Who's Afraid Of The Dark?
by LiulfrLokison
Summary: It's a regular afternoon for the heroic team, hunting down bad guys who threaten their world. Loki is up to another nefarious scheme and is trying to recruit someone, however his location is rather crazy. But someone doesn't seem to be very happy with Loki and the Avenger's barging into their home, and swiftly makes them regret stepping in. Slightly AU, ignoring events of IronMan3.
1. Prologue

_A/N: Hi, LiulfrLokison here. I've had this piece on my computer for a while, which was supposed to be for a contest on Wattpad that I didn't finish in time, but it's been bugging me for a while, so I thought I'd chuck up a snippet of the first chapter and see what you guys think._

 **DISCLAIMER:** _I do not own any of the characters in this story as they belong to MARVEL, but if I do continue this story I do own one character that turns up later on._

 **Who's Afraid Of The Dark?**

-o0o-

It was supposed to be an easy mission.

A simple 'drop in and see what nefarious plan Loki had this time, beat his horned helmet into the ground and return for sharwma' mission. Which was a typically normal Monday for the team of Avengers.

So why were they running for their lives through the halls of an abandoned asylum?

Well . . .

Let's rewind the clock back a few hours.

 _-o0o-_

 _Four hours ago . . ._

 _-o0o-_

"Uh, Cap?" Tony couldn't help but let a tiny bit of apprehension slip into his voice, which was equally mirrored on his teammate's faces. "Yes Tony?" Steve knew it would be easier to just answer the inventors question rather than let his curiosity fester. "Why did the co – ordinates lead us to an old asylum? I mean, sure it does seem like it could be a villains lair, but Reindeer Games? It's not his type of gig." A few times they had been lucky enough to stumble across Loki's previous hideaways, sometimes it was a modest apartment building and one time it had been a cave on a snow covered mountain (Tony had a hell of a time trying to stop himself from having flashbacks).

None of them had been as run down as this building though.

It was a large structure built in a fashion of an old boarding school, rusted iron bars fencing it in on all sides. An ill wind blew, rustling through the piles of dry leaves littering the ground, branches of skeleton trees whipped against each other in a frenzy, as if the twigs were possessed. Grey skies covered up the sun, casting an eerie shadow over the hooded entrance.

Was it Tony's imagination or had he heard laughter coming from behind the barred doors?

Except those doors weren't barred anymore, swinging open with a creak loud enough to wake the dead.

They all shuddered (even Thor), approaching the rusted iron with caution, they wouldn't want to alert Loki that they were present.

"SHIELD's informants questioned a few dealers in the black market, Loki's been trying to find someone to make an alliance with. Which is why he's here." Natasha explained as they passed through the gates, rubbing the dust colored rust off her fingers, spreading like a bloodstain on her SHIELD issue uniform. "Someone lives here?" Clint whispered in comical surprise, eyes scanning for any good sniping spots, but every tree in the area was like twigs, stripped of any life they once had. "Is there anything that's growing here? It's all grey and creepy." Tony had to comment, ready to pull on the Iron Man suit (it was not made for stealth), once they entered the building.

"There are some vines at the entrance." Bruce commented, the Hulk had free reign if need be, the asylum was practically in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town was twenty kilometers away, a desolate town with soulless people according to the reports. Finally they had reached the entrance, preparing their weapons in case Loki was waiting to ambush them.

But the moment they stepped over the threshold, the wind howled again, and for some reason it sounded like a cry of triumph.

The door slammed shut behind them with a bang, throwing them forward into the shadowed foyer, leaving them in total darkness.

Unbeknown to the team of superheroes, something wicked was stirring in those dark depths.

-o0o-

 _A/N: So, is it worth uploading? I'm probably going to continue to write the story for my own amusement, but I just wondered if you lovely people on this site wish to read it as well._

 _Please Review and let me know what you think!_

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	2. Chp 1:Things Do Not Work Out As Planned

_Hello, LiulfrLokison here! Thank you_ **Bittersweet Alchemist** _for your lovely review, and so here I have the full proper chapter! (If you've already read the first snippet, then I don't mind if you skip it and scroll down to the newly added part)._

 **DISCLAIMER:** _I do not own any of the characters in this story as they belong to MARVEL, they are way too awesome for a person such as I to own them (although I wouldn't mind owning Loki, he needs lots of cuddles). I do however own the OC that you will meet in this chapter, I hope you enjoy the encounter!_

 ** _Chapter 1: Things Do Not Work Out As Planned_**

-o0o-

It was supposed to be an easy mission.

A simple 'drop in and see what nefarious plan Loki had this time, beat his horned helmet into the ground and return for sharwma' mission. Which was a typically normal Monday for the team of Avengers.

So why were they running for their lives through the halls of an abandoned asylum?

Well . . .

Let's rewind the clock back a few hours.

 _-o0o-_

 _Four hours ago . . ._

 _-o0o-_

"Uh, Cap?" Tony couldn't help but let a tiny bit of apprehension slip into his voice, which was equally mirrored on his teammate's faces. "Yes Tony?" Steve knew it would be easier to just answer the inventors question rather than let his curiosity fester. "Why did the co – ordinates lead us to an old asylum? I mean, sure it does seem like it could be a villains lair, but Reindeer Games? It's not his type of gig." A few times they had been lucky enough to stumble across Loki's previous hideaways, sometimes it was a modest apartment building and one time it had been a cave on a snow covered mountain (Tony had a hell of a time trying to stop himself from having flashbacks).

None of them had been as run down as this building though.

It was a large structure built in a fashion of an old boarding school, rusted iron bars fencing it in on all sides. An ill wind blew, rustling through the piles of dry leaves littering the ground, branches of skeleton trees whipped against each other in a frenzy, as if the twigs were possessed. Grey skies covered up the sun, casting an eerie shadow over the hooded entrance.

Was it Tony's imagination or had he heard laughter coming from behind the barred doors?

Except those doors weren't barred anymore, swinging open with a creak loud enough to wake the dead.

They all shuddered (even Thor), approaching the rusted iron with caution, they wouldn't want to alert Loki that they were present.

"SHIELD's informants questioned a few dealers in the black market, Loki's been trying to find someone to make an alliance with. Which is why he's here." Natasha explained as they passed through the gates, rubbing the dust coloured rust off her fingers, spreading like a bloodstain on her SHIELD issue uniform. "Someone lives here?" Clint whispered in comical surprise, eyes scanning for any good sniping spots, but every tree in the area was like twigs, stripped of any life they once had. "Is there anything that's growing here? It's all grey and creepy." Tony had to comment, ready to pull on the Iron Man suit (it was not made for stealth), once they entered the building.

"There are some vines at the entrance." Bruce commented, the Hulk had free reign if need be, the asylum was practically in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town was twenty kilometres away, a desolate town with soulless people according to the reports. Finally they had reached the entrance, preparing their weapons in case Loki was waiting to ambush them.

But the moment they stepped over the threshold, the wind howled again, and for some reason it sounded like a cry of triumph.

The door slammed shut behind them with a bang, throwing them forward into the shadowed foyer, leaving them in total darkness.

Unbeknown to the team of superheroes, something wicked was stirring in those dark depths.

-o0o-

Far below in the bowels of the building, a lanky figure paced the dirt ridden floor, their long robe sweeping behind them.

" _Really? First it's a guy with a golden helmet. WITH HORNS! HORNS I TELL YOU! WHAT IS HE, A GOAT?!"_

The figure threw its arms up in the air, the few living beings in the vicinity cowered as their master shouted, fear coursing through their bodies and freezing them in place. The shadowed figure sighed, rubbing a hand on its brow as it felt the newcomers shakily rise to their feet, their determination shone so brightly that the figure hissed in annoyance.

 _"Now I've got to deal with these imbeciles."_

Carelessly waving a hand, the figure strode towards a door, humming in amusement as almost millions of cages opened, the screeching metal sounded like someone was being tortured (even the steel remembered its previous occupants screams after all these years). But it was simply music to the shadowed figure, reminding it of an opera singer's last performance, the poor lady had met a horrible end if they recalled correctly.

But that was not the current matter at hand.

 _"How are my lovelies doing today?"_ A grin rose on the figures face, hands outstretched towards the growling animals that sprung from their cages. There were a large variety, hounds, jungle cats, eagles, bears, a whole assortment of beasts to use at their disposal. Instead of leaping and tearing out the figures throat, the animals fell silent, awaiting their orders.

It had been a long time since their last meal.

 _"Wonderful. Now, we have some guests. And how do we treat our guests?"_ The creatures perked up at this, hoping their master would allow them to begin the hunt for the intruders. Some had already been sent out before when the first intruder had arrived. _"Perfect, you still remember my rules. Now, first of all, I want you to retrieve that horrendous helmet. A glorious trophy for such a tedious hunt as this."_

The large brass doors that led up to the upper levels creaked open, the vines that had grown across them for decades snapped like thin twine, littering the blood soaked stones.

A perfect starting line.

The figure chuckled, a spine chilling laugh that would make the strongest of men shake in their boots. A pair of luminous gold eyes lit up the darkness, narrowed till they were nearly specks like a star in the vast night sky.

 _"Let the game begin."_

-o0o-

"Is everyone alright?" Steve's calm voice shook the terror out of their system, even in the overwhelming darkness. "Just a little bruised Spangles, I think I rammed into Thor." Tony answered first, groping around for his suit but his fingers found nothing but dust. "Hang on, I've got a flashlight." Clint spoke up, fingers rustling through his pockets until he gave a cry of triumph, soon illuminating the darkness with the small light.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Tony felt his growing panic seep away as he saw his suit a few centimetres away from his fingers. "Thanks Legolas, owe you one." He quipped, activating the Iron Man suit so that he could at least get them some light. (One incident being trapped in the sewers with no lights had spurred him to install some in the suit).

"Okay, what exactly happened back there? Because I don't think the wind could have shut that door on us. It weighs like a ton." Clint's question was quite valid, the door was rather heavy and would have required either Steve or Thor to open or close it. "The building is rather old, built in the 1700's from the records SHIELD dug up. It hasn't been used in decades due to several accidents." Natasha supplied as she checked she had all her weapons on her person.

"Accidents? What kind of accidents would cause them to desert this building?" Thor inquired, eyes narrowed and constantly looking around as if he sensed something. "Medications were misplaced, patients or the doctors were locked in rooms for days that didn't have a key, animals could be heard from the basement, some patients went missing and were found later having been experimented on. It was closed after the patients had a riot, none of them got better, this place only seemed to make it worse for them." Was the answer, which was _really_ reassuring for them in their current predicament.

"Are you telling me, we are locked in a potentially haunted asylum?" The two Supernatural fans on the group (Clint and Tony) asked, horror in their voices at the idea of being in such a dilemma.

And with no salt to defend themselves with.

"Possibly."

Natasha calm response did not help them to calm down in the slightest.

"Clint, Tony. We are going to be fine. Loki may have set some sort of magic up to prevent us from leaving the building. Is he capable of such a thing Thor?" The Asgardian nodded in reply to Steve's question, constantly keeping his gaze on the various hallways leading away from the foyer. "My brother Is one of the most skilled sorcerers in Asgard, he kept his secrets well but perhaps it is a shielding spell."

Thor was about to continue talking but faltered as a rumbling sound reached their ears.

And a lot of growling.

"Uh, guys? You don't think that's a herd of animals or something?" No one had time to answer as an enormous dog leapt out of the shadows, positively drooling at the sight of them, its dull gold eyes glinting with malice.

"That is a dog."

"Yep." Was Clint's deadpan reply.

"With teeth that look like they would belong on a shark." Tony's voice had risen slightly higher in pitch.

"Affirmative."

A few seconds passed by, the silence was almost physically becoming a strain.

"I say we run."

"Agreed."

Clint and Tony shot off down the hall like a bullet fired from a gun, ignoring their teammate's cries to 'stay put', but it was seriously freaking the two men out that the dog looked rather similar to a hellhound, and those things usually had razor sharp teeth. Neither of them were going to stick around to see if that fact was true.

If the situation wasn't so serious, the two would have been laughing at the fact the other four soon joined them in their mad sprint through the dark and vine infested halls. But with a pack of hellhounds on their heels, the only thing they could think to do was run.

-o0o-

It had been roughly about ten minutes (according to JARVIS) that they had been running around the hallways of the building. Tony was fairly certain they had been going in circles during that time. "Does anyone have an idea of where we are?" JARVIS had been trying to locate a map of the buildings layout, but the asylum was so old that there were practically no records in any database about the building they were currently trapped in.

"There should be a building layout in the foyer or a reception desk. It's standard for any asylum." Natasha spoke up, slightly out of breath and leaning heavily against a wall. They had managed to escape the dogs, Natasha's guns were practically useless, there was no way in hell she would try to get close enough to the rabid dogs to use her Widows Bite. The halls were too narrow for Steve or Thor to move freely and fight against the beasts. Clint and Tony hadn't even tried to attempt to attack the dogs, they had been busy fleeing for their lives.

"Alright, let's try to find one, shall we?" Bruce tried to sound cheerful, but he was still out of breath from all the running (Bruce was not made for physical exertion like the Hulk). Luckily they had stayed on the same floor, so it wasn't soon until they found a reception desk and located the building layout. JARVIS was quick to take a screenshot of the map and pulled up a holographic version for Tony. "Looks like we're in the East Wing, There's a lot of connected halls, but we're not too far from the stairs. There's a map of the second floor by the stairs as well."

"Moving upwards is our best option, we haven't found Loki yet and if he's been chased by those dogs as well, he would have probably gone upstairs." Steve muttered, it was eerily quiet and that was never a good sign. The team set off, keeping their eyes peeled for signs of the dogs, ears perked to hear their growls. But it seemed the dogs had lost interest, or perhaps were waiting for their guard to slip.

It was almost as if the dogs had been toying with them . . .

-o0o-

 _"Well, this has been quite entertaining."_ The darkened figure murmured, the smile on its face grew to inhuman proportions. The dogs showed everything to their master through their eyes, but now it used the eyes of the bats that resided in ceiling. On the odd chance the figure's creatures couldn't see the intruders, the old camera system came into play. For some strange reason when the camera's were installed, the security room was placed in the basement, but now that the figure recalled its origins . . .

The head doctor of the asylum had been tearing into his patients down here, so having an eye on the cameras would have been ideal for him, allowing him to know when anyone came near the basement.

Hearing screams would have probably indicated to the staff that something was wrong.

Ironically the head doctor had been caught by the people who installed the security system. The doctor had forgotten to wipe the tapes after a particularly riveting torture session and so when the system was undergoing its annual maintenance the footage had been found. The doctor had been immediately slapped into handcuffs and taken to jail, which signalled the downfall of the asylum, the patients had rioted once they found out what had happened to their fellow patients, soon enough their relatives were pulling them out and placed them in the care of other asylums.

Not many people had been privy to that information besides the asylum staff, the families and the patients, it was swept under the rug so cleanly that not even the current governments knew the full details. Even though the shadowy figure would have been well fed from the patient's terror, even it knew there was a limit to how cruel a person could be, and that doctor had definitely crossed the line. It had been quite sickening, even for the figures tastes.

But back to the matter at hand, keeping an eye on both the team of six and the goat – man (which he would be referred to as until his name was given) was becoming a bit disorientating, and the link between the creatures had to be cut off temporarily. Throwing itself into the wheelie chair (which had been laboriously dragged from the head doctor's office to the basement), a stiff leather covered chair with a large backrest, the cameras came to life. Hopefully the intruders would be too focused on their objectives to notice the miniscule red blinking dots on the surveillance cameras, which would indicate they were being monitored.

 _"Let's see where they wandered off to, shall we?"_

-o0o-

Loki had heard many things about the being that roamed the halls of this asylum, and hoped to find an ally in them against Thanos. However, the informants he had approached did not mention how this being seemed to be completely insane and would rather let its subjects chase him through the halls than talk to him.

Loki was starting to regret coming to this place.

It had been perhaps two hours since he had walked into the building, the door slamming behind him should have been the first warning that something was terribly wrong, but he had thought it had just been the wind. The informants had told him how the being would most likely be curious and he should wait until it acknowledged him. They themselves had met the being before, showing the scars they had received for disturbing the being when it was not in the best of moods. They themselves were powerful people, so for this being to scar them it must be very strong.

But it seemed over the years the being's mind had shifted to insanity judging from the way he was assaulted by a pack of hounds and birds, forcing him to run towards a safer area. The beings power negated his abilities to teleport, he would have to find his way to the exit if he ever wanted to leave the eerie building.

"This is ridiculous." Loki sighed, running a hand through his hair and flicking the sweat away. He had never run that much before, not even the hunts Thor and his friends had taken him on required this much physical exertion. The spells he cast at the beasts didn't deter them, it just seemed to motivate them to chase him through the darkened halls of the decaying building. The smell of blood was permanent, the amount of the metallic scent made Loki want to hurl if he had anything in his stomach.

The dogs and birds had left him alone after an hour, but he was sure he had heard the dogs barking roughly twenty minutes ago. But what had made it worse was he was sure he had heard Thor's boisterous voice shouting. That couldn't be possible, he hadn't heard the doors open . . .

Loki's eye twitched (it was a bad habit he had yet to get rid of) as he remembered the slight tremor that had occurred before the dogs had stopped chasing him, it must have been the doors slamming shut again!

"That means that they're here . . ." Loki muttered, kneading his forehead as he tried to figure out how he could find the being, talk and escape before the Avenger's found him. The stone in his sceptre flashed brightly, warning him of approaching danger. Ever since reclaiming the sceptre from SHIELD's clutches (the Norns had shown him what would have happened if he left the sceptre with SHIELD), the Mind Stone had begrudgingly accepted him as one worthy of its power, doing everything it was capable of to keep him alive.

But in this situation it could not help him to teleport out (perhaps he should have taken the Tesseract from the Vault before leaving Asgard). Trying to control the beasts didn't work either, the one time he tried the spell had thrown him back into a wall, which would have cost him an arm if he hadn't scrambled to his feet and run for his life from the pursuing dogs.

Hauling himself to his feet, Loki made his way down the dim lit hallway, never spotting the red blinking dot that had been observing him the whole time.

-o0o-

It had been roughly around four hours since the group of intruders had arrived unannounced, and so far it had been quite entertaining.

The goat – man was still trying to reach the third floor, the darkened figure was quite tempted to personally strike fear into his heart and actually find out the reason the man had to come to the asylum. The group of intruders however, had made their way up to the second floor having found a small safe haven that none of his beasts ever approached due to its past tenant, the head doctor's office.

Only their master was able to enter that place, even though its nose would wrinkle as if smelling something most foul.

 _"Do you think it's time I introduced myself to our guests?"_ Pale slim fingers petted one of the jungle cats, smiling as the leopard butted its head against its arm, happy to receive its master attention. The other beasts were becoming unsettled, eager to show their master their loyalty but had not yet been chosen to hunt the intruders.

Rising from the seat, the figure strolled down into the darkened hallways, a smile on its lips.

Two pairs of gleaming gold eyes glinted with malice as the figure and the leopard faded into the darkness.

-o0o-

 _A/N: Well, thanks for reading this chapter! I'm currently working on chapter 2, and perhaps the team might meet this shadowy figure! Please review and tell me what you think! (I would really appreciate it and want to know if you're still interested in this story!) Sorry if the Avengers and Loki seem out of character, I'm writing them the way I think they would act and talk. I don't mind if you give some constructive criticism about how the story is written. Thanks for reading this longish Author Note!_

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	3. Chp 2: Horrors Behind Closed Doors

_Hi! LiulfrLokison here! I felt really bad as I was very close to finishing Chapter 2 but wasn't happy with the word count (I try to type out at least five pages on a Word doc before declaring it a complete chapter). So I went and edited chapter 2, chucked in a bit more scenes and sentences, since I wanted to see give you more information about the dark figure. I will be giving the OC a gender in the next chapter, which will make it a bit easier for the words to get flowing (it's really awkward writing "it" or "the figure" for their parts). Also, just to let you know, I will start to put little bits of cursing and swearing from now on, as the team and Loki get into dangerous situations. So, here's chapter 2, hope you enjoy!_

 ** _Disclaimer:_** _I do not own Marvel, or any of their characters because if I did there would definitely be more hinted shipping moments throughout the films. And Loki deserves hugs (I'm going to be making things hell for him starting from this chapter). I only own the dark figure that cackles in the shadows._

 ** _Chapter 2: Horrors Behind Closed Doors_**

-o0o-

Steve would never be able to look at dogs in the same way ever again.

They had been chased around the rotting building for four hours (according to JARVIS), and it seemed that it was an endless maze. They had gone to the east wing stairs, only to find the stairs were completely rotted from termites. The moment they had taken a step the whole thing had collapsed, the dogs had immediately come barrelling down the hall, almost foaming at the mouth. They had been forced to run all the way through the outer halls of the building in order to lose the devilish dogs.

The pack of dogs were crafty, chasing them for what seemed to be forever, but every now and then they were given a small rest to catch their breath, before the hunt began again.

However Lady Fortune had saved them at the last moment.

They had finally located a set of stairs that wasn't broken in the west wing, scrambling up the surprisingly sturdy steps before trying to find a room that could be barred from the inside. Luckily the hall was pretty much straight forward, the 1st floor was a labyrinth of halls that made Tony's head hurt from looking at the floor plan.

The dogs seemed to have a little trouble climbing up the stairs and so with those precious seconds to spare, the team had managed to find a room with a solid metal bolt, almost falling over each other as they hurried inside.

No sooner had Steve slid the bolt home, the whole door shuddered as the dogs slammed into the thick piece of wood. Instead of ramming against the door again, they heard the snarling dogs whimper, claws clattering on the timber as they scrambled away down the hall.

That had been ten minutes ago.

All of them were tense, waiting for the dogs to come barrelling against the door in an attempt to break it down and sink their teeth into their flesh, but there was nothing.

"What's going on?" Clint murmured, relaxing his tight grip on his bow, knuckles white from the pressure. "I think, they don't like this room." Tony suggested, shining the suit's lights around the foul smelling room, revealing a large desk and broken shelves, a few decaying books perched precariously in a tower over in a corner. "It's the head doctor's office." Tony and Clint both looked to Natasha with confusion on their face, and the only female on the team sighed, holding up a golden plaque.

" _Head Psychiatrist Dr. Alastor Zilla._ " She read out, handing the plaque over to Tony who had made grabby hands for the piece of metal. Both him and Clint were staring at it with curious expressions while Natasha began to rummage through the desk. It seemed that the dogs weren't coming back anytime soon, so they had to come up with a plan.

The room had only one exit, the doorway which they had bolted shut. There had been no time to get a look at the second floor map, so they had no idea what the layout of the floor was, which could hinder them later on. Natasha was hoping that the office had one stashed away which hadn't succumbed to rodents or mould.

"This is a little weird." Tony muttered, catching the other's attention. Both he and Clint had been staring at the plaque for a whole minute, turning it over in their hands as if they were trying to find something. "What's weird?" Steve asked, confused to why the two men would be interested in a name plaque. But Bruce seemed to notice what the two were fussing about.

"It's clean. There's no sign of rust or wear on it. Everything else in this office is either rotting or covered in mould." Glancing about the room, it occurred to the others why the two Supernatural fans were so interested in such a fact. "So, it's confirmed. We really are in a haunted asylum." Tony somehow managed to sound gleeful and terrified at the same time, holding onto the golden plaque as if it were made out of a precious metal. "I wonder if vibranium can dispel ghosts . . ." The genius added on, none of their weapons were made from pure iron, so if they did come across any supernatural beings, they would have to find a substitute, and quick.

They didn't know how long they had until the dogs returned, and the possibility that they weren't the only thing running around the asylum was very good motivation if they wanted to get out unscathed.

-o0o-

The building layout was simply horrendous. That was all Loki could say on the matter.

Loki could still recall the map he had seen near the stairs but did not dare to pull it off the wall (it was so old that the paper would most likely crumble into dust). Fortunately he had (what the Midgardian's would call) a 'photographic memory', so he had a vague idea of where he was located if he used the floor layout as a guide.

It didn't help that the floor plan looked liked a child had just scribbled a bunch on lines on a page, and some moronic imbecile decided to use it as a basis when building the wretched structure.

He was currently in a room on the north east corner of the 2nd floor, roughly a few hallways away from the flight of stairs to the third floor in the northern wing, but the head doctor's office wasn't that too far away either. He had been tempted to go poke around in that room as the dogs seemed to not go near it, but if he wanted to find the dogs master then he would be getting nowhere with that approach.

In order to reach the stairs, Loki had to take a long detour through the east wing to reach the north wing. It must have been tedious for the staff to make their way through the entire asylum every day to look after the patients. But perhaps the layout was built as such to prevent patients from escaping, the more confusing the better.

Trying to keep his attention on his surroundings, Loki couldn't help but wonder why most of the doors were wedged shut. The dogs seemed to inhabit the 1st floor, the 2nd floor had the occasional hound but mostly avian types of animals were the beasts of prey. They hovered around the easier hallways, perched on window sills and railings which was why he had to avoid the more direct pathway to the north wing.

So why would these doors be shut tight? The east wing was apparently for the depressed patients, as he could feel the aura of absolute dread and misery coating the walls. It was stifling, but every now and then there was a different aura, seeping from the rooms, speaking of strength and intellect which perked his interest.

Considering that the being that inhabited this building had been existing before the time of Merlin, that would also mean it had collected many powerful artefacts, things that not even Odin himself would be able to contain in the Vault of Asgard.

As he stepped lightly past a metal door, Loki faltered mid – step. He could feel traces of warding magic on the door, and had the strangest urge to open it. Something was calling him, beckoning him inside, promising of refuge and rest for the weary.

If he hadn't been so exhausted, Loki would have seen beyond those silk – spun lies.

However, that wasn't the case this time.

Ignoring the little voice in his head that was screaming that this is was a very bad idea . . .

 _Turn around and walk away, do not look back! Abort! Abort! Fucking run!_

He grasped the handle and swung the door open.

Only to come face to face with a set of beady black eyes.

-o0o-

 _"Oh my. He stumbled across that room?"_

The figure stood bolt upright, spine popping as its interest was perked as it watched the sorcerer freeze in place as he realised what manner of being was staring at him right at that moment. Considering what type of being that room's occupant was, the figure wasn't able to watch through their eyes and had to resort to the bats that were hanging from the ceilings instead. However, the expression on the little mage's face was absolutely hilarious. Hopefully the surveillance system was getting everything, it would be a good memento in the future.

But if the goat man didn't make a move in the next few seconds, his demise would come much quicker than it anticipated.

-o0o-

 **Correction.**

 ** _Four sets of beady black eyes._**

If Loki hadn't had mastered the art of speech so many decades ago, right now he would have been screaming at the sight before him. But since he did have such excellent control over his vocal cords, the only sound that escaped him was a small squeak.

What he saw before him was what the Midgardian's labelled as a female orb – weaver spider, but it looked more like a black widow if its colour was any indication.

Except it was the size of one of the Frost Beast's they had encountered on Jotunheim.

So basically it filled the entire room up.

The spider made a clicking noise with its fangs before leaping forward at the open door, and it was only due to his battle honed reflexes that Loki managed to dodge the spray of silk, throwing himself away from the doorway and slamming the door shut with a wave of his hand. The spider made a shrill squealing noise as one of its legs was caught in the metal, cutting the monstrous limb off with a loud squelch.

Gasping for air, it was only until the green glow of his magic died down did Loki pull himself off the floor and finally listen to that little voice in his head.

It really was time to abandon this floor.

-o0o-

"Did you guys hear something?" Steve asked out of the blue, staring at the wall opposite the barred doorway. "No, why'd you ask?" Tony replied in confusion as he held a flashlight for Natasha as the assassin checked every nook and cranny of the office for anything to help their current situation. "I thought I heard a clicking noise and then something shrieked."

"Steve! It's bad enough this place is terrifying as heck, but now you're hearing noises?" Clint exclaimed and nearly dropped his own flashlight, dumping the contents of a dusty drawer onto the desk, which of course was nothing. The Captain gave the archer an apologetic look, but continued to listen out for any dogs that could be wandering nearby.

Clint chucked the drawer over his shoulder with a sigh, they had come up with nothing.

However, Steve sat up straight as he heard a dull thunk when the drawer hit the ground. "Clint, I think there's something in that drawer." Not one to take a wish for granted, Natasha snatched up the drawer and shoved it into Clint's hands. "Have at it Hawkeyes."

With any luck, it would be something useful.

-o0o-

 _"Yes, he lives! It would be really boring if Consuela caught him."_ The figure clapped its hands together in delight as it navigated one of the hallways near the east wing. Normally one would not be able to access this hallway unless they were near the northern wing, but there were several false walls throughout the upper floors. The figure would be able to make its way towards the north wing without having to pass through the east wing and the office were those six where holed up in.

Not that the figure actually had to walk all the way, it could easily transport itself through the shadows of the asylum but there was something satisfying about taking the time and effort to go by foot instead. Tucking its slender limbs inside the black robes sleeves, the figure couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. It stirred a memory of when it passed itself off as an esteemed monk to a town that was plagued by dark spirits, but really it was some minor poltergeist that had gotten out of hand. It had been quite fun to watch the chaos that ensued after it had left (with a newly acquired spirit that was set loose into an abandoned hospital to wreck havoc somewhere in England a few months later).

Considering what the figure was, letting it deal with dark spirits only would cause more to arrive after it left, those spirits seeking out the malevolent energy that lingered in the soil.

Yes, those had been fun times.

-o0o-

"This is humiliating."

Loki groaned, picking himself up from the pile of rotting timber and a horrifyingly squishy substance (he really did not want to know what it was, considering it was soaking into the fabric of his coat).

He had been able to catch his breath a while ago after the giant spider incident, but it had been short lived as one of those mangy dogs had rammed into him, howling in triumph to its pack while Loki struggled for breath. As soon as he had been able to fill his lungs with air he had sprinted off, only to trip over some metal cart that had been strewn in the hallway, sending Loki crashing into one of the many boarded up doors. And he was getting so close to the northern wing.

Glancing about the room he had landed in, Loki now knew why it had been sealed from anyone stupid enough to wander through this wretched building.

The walls were painted with dripping words, speaking of panic, terror and absolute fear from its previous occupants. The ramblings were created from bloodied fingers, the only available markers as he didn't think the staff would have been kind enough to provide them writing instruments. The floor was covered in splintered wood, no doubt they had been tables and beds, which had quickly fallen to termites judging from the state they were in.

He was rather surprised that the dogs hadn't found him yet, he hadn't exactly been silent when he crashed over the metal cart as well as break the door down. Another thing he was absolutely confused about was that the dogs had snatched his helmet rather than bite into his vulnerable neck when it had ran into him before. He now understood that their master was toying with him, either for their own amusement or to test him. He wasn't exactly sure which one it was, which made him begin to think that he certainly was crazy to have come up with the ludicrous notion that the being would actually consider to take the time to talk to him.

And now here he was , his coat stained with a questionable substance and covered in mouldy splinters. Luck was not on his side today. The dogs had seemed to have retreated for a little while, which allowed him time to gather his wits to try and attempt to escape the hell – house he had so voluntarily stepped into.

Heaving himself away from the splintered wood, Loki winced as he inspected his legs. He had hit the cart rather painfully, but that did not explain why he could now feel bruises on his flesh. Even though he truly was a Jotun, Loki was still an Aesir, a mere metal contraption shouldn't be able to injure him . . .

Blinking in realisation, Loki let two words slip past his lips, only now noticing what he should have hours ago.

"Oh Hel."

-o0o-

 _"Ah, looks like he found out."_ The dark figure whined, plucking the golden helmet from the faithful dog's jaw. _"You did wonderful my pets, but I need you to make sure that the intruders do not leave this floor. I have plans for them, they must not reach my quarters."_ The dog's tails wagged happily, darting off towards the stairs while barking with delight. The leopard kept itself curled against its master's side, inquiring with a soft growl what its role was to be.

 _"You, my darling . . ."_ The figure wrapped it's long spindly fingers under the jungle cat's jaw, almost in a caress as it angled the feline's face up towards its own. _"I need you to find the first man and hinder his progress. One of his legs if you will."_ The feline purred as its master held the helmet out, letting the predator memorize the scent before slinking off into the shadowed hallways, searching for the one who sought to steal its master's attention away from its fellows.

The figure smiled as one of its devoted subjects disappeared into the shadows, fiddling with the golden helmet in its hands. _"He's a smart one."_ It murmured, most that entered its home never realised that their strength was waning far too quickly when they came to investigate the asylum. There had been several mutants (as society labelled them) that came to this asylum after hearing the rumours, believing that perhaps they could find refuge or a fellow mutant whom they could recruit for their cause.

Every single one of them had met their demise in these bloodied halls.

What the mutants should have noticed was how their power waned the longer they stayed inside the building. Every single mutant had a stronger durability than normal humans, in order for their body to be able to keep up with their individual abilities. Yet the moment they stepped through the doors, they lost that little advantage, becoming mere humans with a single weapon at their disposal (unless they had teleportation abilities, then they had nothing).

And yet here was a man claiming to be a god, the first to figure out this little trick, but was succumbing far too quickly to fear for the figure's taste.

It wouldn't be much of a game if the players dropped out this quickly, so motivation was in order.

 _"I hope you enjoy my present, little serpent."_ The figure cackled, throwing the helmet over its shoulder, the golden metal ringing loudly through the hallway until it rolled to a stop against a certain wooden door, startling the occupants inside.

-o0o-

 _A/N: Well, another chapter uploaded! I feel like I gained an achievement! If any of you are wondering who Consuela is, she is a giant orb - weaver spider from a movie I watched several years ago and decided to watch again. It freaked me out and then somehow in my mind I thought of how the Avengers or Loki would react if they opened a door and came face to face with this giant spider. Internet hugs and cookies to those who realise which movie I'm referring to! (If you don't know, that's okay. I didn't even now Consuela had a name, I thought she was just this giant spider in the movie). It's also kind of funny cause I realised Scarlett Johansson was also in the movie! If you know the name of the movie, post it in the reviews. Just wondering how many people have watched this movie._

 _I've got a snippet from chapter 2 that got shifted to chapter 3, so it's going to be a while before chapter 3 is out. Hope you enjoyed reading this story! Please review and let me know what you thought?_

 _P.S. Please tell me what you think of the OC so far? They're a work in progress, but shrieked at me at the idea of leaving this story sitting idle on my laptop. So I kept writing for them._

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	4. Chp 3: The Greatest Show On Earth

_HELLO! LiulfrLokison here yet again! I'm am_ _ **so sorry**_ _that this took quite a while to write. I've been literally sitting here for the past three hours trying to write it out to a worthwhile length. I am super happy about finally uploading this chapter, (I actually squealed out as I returned to the computer to write the last few lines "I hope they like it!") **THANK YOU**_ _ **Sephiroth Crescent - Valentine**_ _for following this story, I love the fact that I can apply a username to the views I'm getting, it allows me to let you know personally that you have my gratitude for reading this story (as well as_ _ **ravenfett,**_ _ **doctor3378**_ _) but I owe the most heartfelt thanks to_ _ **Bittersweet Alchemist**_ _who was the one to ask me to continue to write this story, and has been motivating me ever since through their reviews to keep typing words onto the page._

 _It took a while to write this one, as I was actually drawing up the asylum floor plan so I could actually follow out where the team and Loki were walking about. I've got the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor drawn up, working on the 4th, and will also draw the basement. Once I have all of them drawn up, I will try and leave a link for them so you know what the asylum layout is like if you're curios. Also the OC was rather particular with how I described how they looked. So you came blame them partially about the delay._

 _OC: Well, you're also to blame, you're the one who kept arguing back at me!_  
 _LiulfrLokison: Hey! You're the one who was so specific about how it sounded! I read out your passage like, ten times!_  
 _OC: Argh, just, just hurry up and finish this A/N. This is my debut!_  
 _LiulfrLokison: Fine, fine, you have to do the disclaimer though._

 _OC: Okay, LiulfrLokison does not own any MARVEL characters (despite the unnecessary commentary that she wish she did), but she does have the credit of making moi! Although I can see why she wish she did, Loki is rather fun to mess around with, and I have yet to play with the Avengers. I think I'll have fun screwing around with a few of them, they're rather interesting._

 _LiulfrLokison: *Hem Hem* Alright, without further ado, here is Chapter 3!_ _ **ENJOY! :3**_

 ** _Chapter 3: Welcome To The Greatest Show On Earth_**

-o0o-

The sudden loud clang and thud against the door caused several different reactions throughout the team.

Clint dove behind the desk with a yelp, Tony aimed his repulsor's at the door, Natasha drew her handguns, Steve readied his shield, Thor was fully prepared to throw Mjolnir, and Bruce joined Clint behind the desk.

"What the hell was that?!" Tony (of course) was the first to verbally respond, hands surprisingly steady as he kept the repulsor's trained on the door. "It certainly wasn't one of the dogs." Steve commented, unsure if the sound had been a good or a bad thing for them. "You don't think, it could be . . ." Clint murmured, eyeing the clean plaque in horror as he peeked out from behind the desk. "Dr. Zilla's ghost?" Tony was on the same wavelength as their archer, neither sounded like they wanted to encounter the doctor's spectre.

They had come across rather disturbing files in the desk, detailing procedures that usually wouldn't be performed in an asylum. It seemed the doctor had been a bit more personal with the patients than the rest of the staff.

And their organs.

The papers were in a shockingly good condition considering they had been stored in a rotting desk. But the good doctor had gone to some extreme measures to hide and store his documents. The waterproof folder had been hidden inside a metal lined hidden compartment in the drawer Clint had tossed to the ground, a false bottom but so cleverly hidden that no one would likely be able to find, except for Clint whose eyesight was second to none. (He had to be in his line of work).

If it was the good doctor's ghost, none of them wanted him getting his hands on them. The others had caught enough snippets of Supernatural episodes to know what ghosts were capable of. "Well, here goes nothing . . ." Steve slid the bolt back, throwing the door open to see –

Nothing.

There were no dogs, no silver spectre, absolutely nothing. Just a darkened hall crawling with ivy and cockroaches.

"It's safe." Steve announced, stepping out only to feel something hard collide with his boot, the sound of metal clanging against the steel toed material was enough to confirm that this was what had made the sound from before.

"Oy, is that –"

"Looks like it." Steve plucked the golden helmet off the ground, the shape was unmistakable. "It's Loki's, which means he must be nearby." Thor took the helmet from Steve's hands, a foreboding look on his face. "My brother would never leave this behind, it was a gift from the dwarves." Thor had regaled them with tales, such as the one of how he and Loki obtained their helmets in the first place, travelling to the realm of the dwarves and as a reward for the tasks they performed, the dwarves had forged them their helmets. Thor didn't wear his often, and Loki had the same mind set, but neither of them would just carelessly discard the helmets.

The large scratch marks on the metal did not help to settle their unease, it was clearly caused by the dog's teeth. "Well, at least we know he's on this floor." Tony muttered, lighting up the hallway and praying to any god that was listening that there were no dogs waiting in the shadows for them. Lady Fortune seemed to shine on them again, no dogs lay in wait and Steve could only hear movement coming from the bottom floor.

"We should get a move on." Natasha murmured, glancing down at the map in her hands. This floor had housed the more violent patients on the west wing, they were currently in the east wing. The only set of stairs were in the northern wing, which was the 'Self – Abuse' ward according to the map. None of them wanted to go into the west wing which was for the suicidal patients, the layout in that wing was a complete mess.

But to get there they had to make their way through the wide hall that ran through the centre of the second floor, and then enter the east wing. Tony seriously wanted to strangle the architect of the building, the layout made no sense at all with all the twisting and turning halls. It was as if someone had based it off a random game of minesweeper (even though in that time they didn't even have computers), the maps showed various room sizes and accessibility to the different wings were absolutely nutty. Instead of joining two hallways, the architect just cut them off with a wall in – between.

The only problem they had was that the map only showed the second floor, the Dr. Zilla had been kind enough to note down where he kept the other map fragments as if one of the more violent patients managed to get a copy of the full map it would be all too easy for them to escape the facility. The map also only showed where the doors were on rooms that had bolts on the door, which helped them if they needed to barricade themselves later on. This meant that the individual rooms were all blocks on the map, and only due to the two differentiating colours (black ink was the outer walls, and blue ink were the walls between rooms) that Natasha could tell what parts were the hallways on the paper.

The team were pretty sure the thicker lines of blue ink were the thick doors that separated the wings, and were glad to see there weren't many as the rusted metal was very hard to shift. It had taken Steve a good running start to shoulder through the first they came across. He had received a large bruise for his efforts. The second door had been easier, Thor had ran head first into the them, the doors scraping against the floor but luckily not slamming into the walls they were bolted to. The Asgardian had been a bit dazed for a second but shook it off, and that had been when they found the office.

"Everyone ready?" Steve asked, glancing towards to his right where the hallway turned a corner. Once they passed that corner, there was no going back.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Clint murmured, gripping his bow with a white – knuckled fist that betrayed how rigid he was. Tony had finished adjusting the frequency of his repulsor's so that the suit slightly hovered above the ground. It would reduce the clanking sound the suit made when Tony walked in it, but it was better than nothing. "Good to go Cap. JARVIS can't detect any of the dogs, however there is a frequency closer to the northern wing. That's probably Loki, but something's making the feed fuzzy."

If they were fast enough, they could probably catch up to Loki if they didn't get turned around by the hallways. "Let us be off. If my brother has encountered the same beasts as us, I dread what we might find." Thor's voice was full of trepidation, no matter how much Loki hurt or insulted him, Thor would still love his brother no matter what. The way he held onto the helmet clearly showed his feelings.

Tension running through their veins, the team set off with quick strides into the unknown.

-o0o-

Loki didn't know how long he sat on the damp floor, thoughts running rampant through his mind.

How could he be so ignorant to not notice his strength had been disappearing?

It had been over six hours at least since he had entered the asylum, and considering how he had been focused on finding the creature's master before the Avenger's found him . . .

Cursing at himself, this was one of the moments Loki hated his habit of blocking information out when he was fully focused on something. It was a habit that had helped him in the past, but now it was hindering him. Thinking back, he did recall being somewhat weary after four hours, most likely then whatever was happening began to affect him then. That would also mean that Thor and the Avengers would be feeling the effects by now as well.

Sighing, Loki picked up the sceptre, casting a small spell to light the hallway for him as the lighting was dimming, dusk was soon approaching and he would not be able to rely on light from the barred windows much longer.

It was then he heard something stirring in the darkness, approaching from the hallway he had ran down mere minutes ago, a soft footstep crinkling the ivy leaves. It wasn't one of the dogs, those animals made an enormous racket, and neither was it an avian creature, he would have been able to hear the fluttering.

Instead, it sounded much like a –

"By the Norns!"

Leaping to his feet, Loki dashed down the hallway, almost running into a wall where the hallway turned a corner. The hall straightened out then, allowing him to build up some speed before there was another corner. He could hear the beast growling down the hallway, getting closer and closer every passing second.

Skidding almost to a halt, he sprinted up again where the hall had yet another corner. Swearing under his breath, Loki knew the door to the northern wing was just up but there was no time to be relieved! He could hear its claws scraping the concrete floor, sparks lighting up the darkened hall.

Knowing he was making a racket, Loki was halfway down the hall, holding up his arm, about to use his magic to swing the heavy door open.

He was nearly there – the beast snarling and spitting at his heels – his fingers brushed the door handle – the beast let out a roar as it leapt – barely a metre away from freedom –

 _Then his world was nothing but pain._

-o0o-

"Luckily we haven't run into anything." Bruce murmured, waiting patiently as both Thor and Steve cautiously pushed the heavy steel door open, hoping that there were no dogs close by that would hear the sound of steel scraping on concrete. Clint was shining his flashlight into the hall beyond the doorway, revealing the small questionably stained floor and littered with ivy.

"Alright, the East Wing." Natasha held the map out while Bruce shined the other flashlight on the paper, figuring out which turns they had to take. Thor glanced a peek over her shoulder, quickly memorizing the route that she was pointing out. There were several turns they would have to take.

Then, out of nowhere, a terrifying sound filled the air.

A thundering roar assaulted their ears, they all jolted in shock, Clint dropped his flashlight and it hit the ground with a dull thunk, the light flickering but not dying out.

But it was the next sound that sent chills down their spines, terror seeping into their veins.

A scream.

It was filled with pure agony, making them shudder and wince.

There was a loud thud and silence fell upon them yet again.

None of them could move for a second, fear freezing their bodies.

A mere second later Thor was plunging into the absolute pitch black hallway, complete and utter horror in his voice as he yelled.

"BROTHER!"

For that scream, had been none other than . . .

Loki himself.

-o0o-

The leopard purred in satisfaction, watching the pitiful sorcerer that dared to disturb its master's home writhe in pain on the floor. It had been most wonderful to have sunk its fangs into the sorcerer's left calf, his scream had been delightful! And the accompanying thump as the sorcerer fell like a rock onto the floor had been magnificent as well.

Perhaps now its master would be happy, the master saw sorcerers as the worst scum of the earth. Considering what they had done to its poor master, who had given up so much for those foul and loathsome little cockroaches . . .

Licking its fangs clean, the leopard revelled in the taste of blood, although this blood had a cold tang to it which made the fur on its body ripple to shake off the sudden chill. The sorcerer's scream had died off into hissing breaths grasping his bloodied limb, the man was opening the metal door with his magic, the hinges squealing in protest as rust flaked off its surface.

Cocking its head to the side, the leopard stared at the sorcerer who was beginning to drag himself into the northern wing. The master had said to only hinder the man, so there was no need to attack anymore but it was satisfying to see the absolute dread on the pitiful man's face. Padding forward, the leopard perked up as it felt the comforting presence of its lord and master so close by. Perhaps its master would shower it with praise for completing the set task, and there was no greater reward than that.

Slipping through the door that had been left open, the leopard let out a purr as it saw the master sitting on the stair railings.

Now this trespasser would know true fear.

-o0o-

Loki had felt absolutely mortified to hear his own scream, but the pain had been excruciating!

His veins ran cold, as if something was slithering through his bones towards his heart, but the threat of the leopard was a greater issue. The dark furred feline was staring at him with human like intelligence, dull golden eyes gleaming in pleasure at the injury it had inflicted on him. It made no move towards him, so he took the chance he was offered and pulled the door open with a weak wave of his fingers.

Loki could see the stairs to the third floor out of the corner of his eyes as he dragged his body past the doors, wincing as the metal on his armour scraped the ground. But his gaze was directed back to the leopard, who had begun to slink through the doors, ears perked and tail swishing behind it. It was when his back collided heavily with a wall behind him, did he realise the leopard wasn't looking at him at all, but towards the staircase and a rumbling purr emerged from its throat.

 _"Ah, there you are my darling. You've done your part to perfection."_ The voice came out of nowhere, a soft and silky tone that make his spine crawl. The leopard purred again, padding up to the stairs and almost seemed to preen at the words. It was then he saw long pianist – like fingers stroking the leopards head, and as he looked up Loki saw those fingers connected to a black robed arm.

And now he finally laid eyes on the very reason why he came to the asylum for.

The being had the shape of a man, tall and long limbed (the figure had stood up from the stair railings), clothed in a jet black robe. His skin was ashen, the pale colour of death, yet it somehow complimented his features, high cheekbones that smoothed out into a strong androgynous jaw. Sharp amber gold eyes glittered with delight, yet was full of madness, bright and vivid against his grey flesh.

His visible skin held no blemishes (as the dip of the robe exposed his chest from the neck down to the top of his stomach), it was as if he had been shaped from the smoothest of marble. The robe twisted around his form, shaping a slim waist and hips, the cloth flaring out to drag behind him as he approached Loki without a sound, moving with the stealth of the most deadly of assassins, but the grace of the most elegant of dancers.

The end of the robe sleeves were rather like a monk's, covering his hands and making it impossible for Loki to tell if he concealed a weapon within the folds of his sleeves. However, Loki couldn't help but notice that they were of uneven lengths, the left sleeve being much longer than the right sleeve.

But his attention was drawn to the man's face, and his hair.

Instead of complying with the law of gravity, the man's pitch black hair rose up from his scalp, forming the shape of a candle flame. (And seemed to act the same too, he wouldn't be surprised if it burst into dark coloured wisps of fire any second now). A few loose strands seemed to understand that the law of physics was superior and framed his face on either side, only making those golden eyes stand out even more.

And now those spider – like fingers were under his chin, forcing his face up to meet the piercing gaze of those hypnotizing eyes.

Loki found himself frozen, unable to turn away from those eyes that seemed to stare into his very soul.

The two were silent, neither one wished to break the silence that cloaked them like a shroud, merely staring at each other.

One with a curious expression, the other with pure terror, yet in awe of the being in front of him.

There was no doubt, (in Loki's mind), that the answer to his prayers was standing right in front of him.

But he had no idea that the pain and suffering that was his price to meet this person, was yet to come to a close.

-o0o-

A chuckle broke the silence, his lips curling into a cruel smile out of mirth as he saw the expression on the young god's face. Those emerald eyes were captivating, the colour of lush forests and the scales of serpents, and yet this young thing he saw before him was so tainted, dyed black from the abuse and torture he had faced. It almost made him want to extend a hand to this child, a place in his ranks, a family, a home.

But, there was one problem with that idea.

This young god used seidhr.

Magic.

And he had a positively bloodthirsty grudge against seidhr users.

Not that anyone really that knew that issue, it was sort of. . .

A personal problem for him.

Although he really shouldn't have let that be the reason he slaughtered a couple dozen over.

Ah, but that was old times, and he had gotten rather bored over the centuries.

And now, here was he again. A sorcerer who required his aid, he certainly wasn't the first, and he certainly wasn't going to be the last, if a certain trio of people didn't keep their mouths shut.

But, maybe this particular young sorcerer, would meet his standards.

 _Master?_

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his dear Alexandria waiting patiently, ears perked and tail twitching. A sign of jealously, even he hadn't touched another person for this long before. The leopard was most likely irritated over the fact this seidhr wielder was getting more attention from him, than her. But since he hadn't been this entertained in so long, she was barely holding herself in check.

 _"Well, I believe introductions are in order."_ Withdrawing his fingers from the emerald eyed youth's flesh, he stood up straight, burying his other hand into Alexandria's fur. _"This is Alexandria, my most loyal child. You should be pleased, she has far more restraint than my other children. If I had let the others take on this task, I have no doubt that you would have had more than just a pair of fangs in your leg."_

The youth gulped, trying to rise to his feet but had no strength in his body.

 _"Oh, I see its working."_ He couldn't help but speak with delight in his voice, making the emerald eyed sorcerer gasp in realisation. "What did you, do to me?" He asked, voice breathless and shaking with terror. Sensing the rising panic from the sorcerer's tone, he couldn't help but laugh, clutching his stomach with both arms, he hadn't had this much fun in decades!

 _"Oh, don't worry. That isn't poison, it's something far much more worse."_ The sorcerer choked, glancing to the wounds on his leg and back up to meet his golden eyes.

 _"It's fear. Pure, wholesome, unadulterated, unmodified, untouched, untainted, fear."_ He counted the words off his fingers, seeing the sorcerer's eyes widen as he saw what was hidden under the sleeves of his robe.

You see, his body wasn't like a normal human body. It was un – proportioned, his right arm was the normal thickness and length of a normal male of his height, the fingertips reaching halfway down his thigh. But his left arm reached all the way down to his knee, and thinned out from the elbow down, the thickness of a small bundle of sticks. The fingers of his left hand were much longer as well, twice as long as they should be allowing him to touch his wrist without difficulty.

To make up for his dis – proportioned arms, his legs were much longer as well, allowing him to tower over this sorcerer with ease (most likely about two heads taller than this young god before him). Most people who had wandered into this building in the past had taken one look at him, screamed, and fled (only to be assaulted by his children who felt they needed to punish the offenders).

However, this sorcerer was different. He wasn't looking at him in disgust, but in utter curiosity.

Yes, perhaps this would be the one.

 _"You are?"_

This seemed to shock the young god out of his stupor, stumbling over his words as the fear Alexandria had implanted in him made its way throughout his body. "L – Loki, Loki Laufeyson. Raised on Asgard, but . . . born of . . . Jotunheim." He sounded hesitant to tell of his origins and had yet to come to terms with it, but considering what he had just said, it was apparent why.

 _"Ah yes, ever since the war, Asgard does like telling lies about the Jotun's. They're actually a rather peaceful race, unless there is a threat to their people. Being raised on Asgard, you would have been told false accusations, and finding out about your origins would be rather, unsettling."_

Loki was now looking at him in disbelief, for some reason he could decipher. But before he could ask why such an expression was on his face, a loud bang echoed through the east wing, and the walls shook.

 _"Oh, I do believe that is your so – called brother. Ah, the spectators will soon become the main attraction."_

He clapped his hands together as he said, utter delight in his tone and clearly on his face judging from how Loki looked rather apprehensive now. "Do you know why I'm here?" Loki quickly asked, panic in his voice as the banging grew louder, his hands were spasming every other second.

 _"Oh, of course. You came here like everyone else does. You need my aid, but for reasons that you wouldn't tell anyone else. Because they don't trust you."_

Loki's breath caught in his throat, his eyes full of unshed tears. No doubt nobody had told him this fact so bluntly before. "Yes, I need your help. The Ma – "

 _"Yes, yes, I know why you've come. I can see it, it's what you're so afraid of right now."_ He cut Loki off, the sound of the thundering thunder god (there was no other way to describe how much of a racket that Asgardian was making) coming closer and closer. _"But, I don't just hand out my help that easily."_ Loki winced, eyes glancing from the door and back to him, clearly weighing up the odds.

"What do I have to do?" His voice was full of determination, mind dead set on gaining his aid. It was rather inspiring, but he would have to pass the same test onto Loki as all the others had faced. _"Show me the strength of your conviction, and I'll consider your situation. There is a test, that you must face, to see if you are worthy enough for me to give you the aid that you require."_

"And if I fail?" Loki's voice was full of anxiety, clearly knowing that this test would be unlike any other challenge he had faced before.

The Asgardian and his fellow teammates were just in time to hear his words as he faded back into the shadows, Alexandria curled up against his side.

 _"I'll take your life as my prize."_

Loki's expression was full of utter horror, but grated out one last question.

"What do you mean, 'show me the strength of your conviction'? What must I do?!"

He couldn't help but let out a blood chilling cackle, making both Loki and the team of blundering fools shudder with dread.

 _"How can you ask me for help, when you cannot face yourself?"_

He whispered that last riddle to Loki, melting into darkness until there was nothing but the glimmer of his golden eyes.

And when that spark vanished, the hallway was covered by the night, leaving them into total darkness.

He was looking very forward to the show that they would be providing.

Yes . . .

This was . . .

 **The Greatest Show On Earth.**

-o0o-

 _A/N: And Chapter 3 is over! I can promise you all now that the Avengers and Loki will now interact with each other! (They're gonna be stuck together for a while), and I can't wait to write up the Avenger's reactions to what they just heard. If any of you wonderful readers out there recognize what I am referencing with the chapter title, you must be geniuses! If you don't know, don't worry cause I did slightly change the wording. It's referring to a song that I found randomly thanks to a D. Gray - Man AMV off Youtube, and the song was called_ _ **"Welcome To The Greatest Show Unearthed".**_ _It was picked as the title of this chapter due to the fact the OC is viewing what happens as if he is conducting a show, but now he can sit back and relax, watching as the show unfold before him. (Also I kind of like the song, it's a little creepy depending on how you view, but I find it rather fascinating)._

 _OC: Yes, this will be rather delightful. I wish I had some beverages to eat and drink while this goes on.  
LiulfrLokison: Eh, I guess you could just ask your children to get you some. (Oh, also about this, the OC refers to his subjects as his children, and that reason will be explored in later chapters. It just clicked in my head while writing this chapter, but I sort of already called them his subjects in the first chapter, so yeah, just clearing that up for your guys. So they will be called his children from now on!)_

 _Please review and let me know what you think of the OC's appearance! There is a hint of who he is based off in the description Loki gives us, so if you do realise who I am referring too, please tell me your answer in your review. I will answer this in the next chapter, so I look forward to seeing your responses. Internet cookies and hugs to all who read all of this, because seeing all the views my story is getting really makes my day, and allows me to get through my week with a smile on my face._

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	5. Chp 4: Uneasy Feelings

_Uh, LiulfrLokison here again. It's really weird, I wrote up only like two small paragraphs yesterday, and I was really bored in between my lectures and somehow managed to write out all this . . . I need sugar. But yeah, I'll keep this note brief cause I've got to go catch a train home, and will see how this chapter is taken by you guys. Thank you_ _ **MarishkaTheUnderdog**_ _and_ _ **Celeste D. Lilica**_ _for following, I've now got five followers for this fic! I'm super excited to write more!_

OC: LiulfrLokison does not own Marvel, only me. Short disclaimer as she really has to get going.

 _But yeah, here's the chapter. Hope you like the quick update!_

 ** _Chapter 4: Uneasy Feelings_**

-o0o-

"Thor!" Steve couldn't help but call out after the Asgardian, being separated was the worst thing that could happen to them now. But Thor's mad sprint continued, forcing the others to follow him or risk losing one of their main powerhouses.

Clint scooped up his flashlight from the floor, shining the light in front of them and tugging Bruce along with him, the others followed suit with questions teeming in their minds.

What had attacked Loki? It had to be some sort of animal, and how badly was the Aesir injured?

Thor was racing ahead, banging into walls in the dark but plunged head on, most likely he had memorized the turns he needed to take. As they passed a large barred door, Tony let out a sound of disgust as the team passed the remains of something that looked like spider silk but it was an enormous strand that was stuck to the opposite wall. None of them wanted to encounter whatever had created it.

It wasn't long before they caught up to Thor, who was standing by the rusted door to the northern wing, spotting Loki sitting on the floor with wide terrified eyes, staring at something in front of him.

 _"I'll take your life as my prize."_ A silken voice came out of nowhere, full of utter delight at the horrified expression on Loki's face. However, the green eyed sorcerer managed to push past his fear to ask a question.

"What do you mean, 'show me the strength of your conviction'? What must I do?!"

Loki sounded quite anxious, his question ending in a shout that only confirmed how desperate he was. Whoever Loki was talking to let out a cackle that made the very blood in their veins freeze, their bodies un – voluntarily shuddered as the mysterious stranger left them with a cryptic message.

 _"How can you ask me for help, when you cannot face yourself?"_

The hallway was plunged into darkness, only the flashlights, Tony's armour and Loki's sceptre gave them enough light to see. "Brother!" Thor dropped to his knees, practically dragging Loki into his arms to hold the other Asgardian close. But instead of shoving Thor off him as usual, Loki made no move to try and take Thor's hands off him, eyes vaguely blank as if still trying to process what had just occurred.

"Hey Loki, you in there?" Tony asked, taking a step forward and the loud clunk stirred Loki from the daze he was in. "Thor, remove your hands from my person at once." He grated out, but they could all hear the pain in his voice. "We heard your scream brother, and you are injured." Now all of them could smell the metallic tang of blood, Clint's flashlight shone on the pool of blood that was steadily dripping down from Loki's left leg, revealing two large puncture wounds in his calf.

"We need to stop the bleeding quickly." Bruce took over, being the team's personal doctor (all of them had problems with hospitals), none of them took his word for granted. Loki scowled but obviously knew that the wound was a problem with its current state. "We don't exactly have any bandages, Thor, we'll have to use your cape." Despite how much Thor treasured the red fabric, the blonde Asgardian quickly took the thick material off and handed it to Bruce.

While Bruce tended to the injury, Loki could clearly see the team had questions for him.

The green eyed Aesir let out a loud sigh.

-o0o-

"Fine, let's get this over and done with. I do not wish to encounter that monstrous spider again." Loki wasn't particularly sure if the bolt on the door had been latched shut before he had run off, although he was fairly sure the spider wouldn't be able to fit through the door, it most likely had smaller spiders crawling inside the room.

"Wait, so there is a giant spider back in the east wing?" Barton was the one that spoke, voice slightly higher in pitch at the very thought of an enormous spider being close by. "Yes. Please tell me the door was bolted shut. I do not wish to come face to face with it again." Loki groaned, one time was enough and due to his strength being sapped he was extremely tired. He didn't even feel like insulting anyone of them.

Which was something Stark picked up on rather quickly.

"Not on your A game today? Normally you would be calling us buffoons and what not." Stark had removed his suit of armour, getting the kinks out of his neck while looking at the doctor's work. "Obviously not Stark." Loki drawled, wincing as Banner suddenly tightened a strip of Thor's cape around the punctures wounds, but it was more due to the bruising on his legs that had been caused by the metal cart.

"Do you have any more injuries?" Banner asked, clear concern on his face as he faltered in wrapping Loki's bloodied leg. Shaking his head, Loki couldn't feel he had any other injuries that needed attending to. "Just bruises. How long has it been since you entered this building?" The abrupt change in subject threw them off, however Romanoff responded first for them. "Roughly four hours. And you?"

"Six hours. This place drains the energy out of you, I only just noticed it a few minutes ago. I estimate it starts around the four hour mark, soon you will have the vulnerability of human flesh Thor." The blonde Asgardian was still holding Loki's shoulders, hauling him up onto his feet once Banner had finished wrapping his leg. Stark flinched for some reason, the rest of the team were looking at the inventor with concern and worry.

"JARVIS, how's the reactor holding up?" Stark asked out loud, and the AI responded from inside the suit.

 _"The reactor shows no signs of being tampered by foreign energies or any drainage sir."_ That seemed to make the team relax, so the reactor wasn't just a source of energy for the suit. Loki had always been curious about Stark's Arc Reactor, since it had prevented the man from being affected by the sceptres influence, which had been a boon during the Manhattan invasion. "I believe it is only physical energy that is drained, and brings any non – human individuals to a human state. It is the only explanation I can think of." Loki commented, casting a light spell that made a thin layer of ice over his punctured skin underneath the makeshift bandage. It would at least make the blood start to clot, he was already slightly dizzy from the blood loss, and he could not afford to lose any more.

"Alright, so can we talk about Mr. Tall and Creepy from before?" Barton's question brought them back to the situation at hand, and Loki found their attention all drawn back onto him again. "He must be the person you're trying to become allies with, is he not?" Romanoff queried, all of them where clearly curious to who the man was and why he lived in this certain building.

"Yes, I was told that if I was looking for an ally, then the being that roams these halls would be the strongest. They did warn me that it would be dangerous if he wasn't in the best of moods. They had terrible scars from incurring his wrath, but I did not expect to see the insanity in his eyes. It has been a century since they last saw him, something has occurred during that time frame." Loki couldn't help but lean against Thor, he was just so tired . . .

"There have been plenty of reports about this place over the past fifty years." Romanoff's voice snapped him out of his daze, glancing over to the red haired assassin. "The nearest town did report that every now and then some people would come here to explore the asylum, sometimes for photos or to try find out its history. They all never returned. Several scholars came here as well, and all of them asked the townspeople that if they weren't back in three days then something had happened to them. They had been told about this asylum by three siblings, but never gave a reason to why they came here. There have been sixty – two reported disappearances, and probably more that's not on record."

Stark, Rogers, Banner and Thor were all looking at Romanoff in absolute horror at the facts she had just given them. Barton looked mildly disturbed but recovered the fastest, a grimace on his face. "So, they came in here and ran into whatever his name is, and got killed." Romanoff nodded, glancing to Loki with an expression that told him she wanted to know if he had any idea clues about it.

"The three siblings, they are most likely the three that told me about this place. They did say they told other sorcerers from other realms who came in search of strength. They never knew what happened to them though. They must have made a deal like I have done, and failed whatever task they had been set."

Thor made a strangled sound in his throat, looking down at Loki with utter panic in his eyes. "You made a deal?! You know the consequences of making one, and with a being like that . . ." Thor trailed off, giving Loki's arm a quick squeeze as if trying to confirm that he was still there. "Wait, hold on. Why does Point Break say that like making a deal is the worst thing that could ever happen a person?" Stark butted in, glancing between Loki and Thor with confusion on his face.

"A deal is the most sacred of oaths throughout all the realms. To break a deal is to experience pain worse than death. Your very soul is damned to an eternity of torture in the realms of Niflheim. There is no greater punishment." Thor's voice was grave, making Loki wince as he never did like when Thor spoke in that tone. The few times that he did was when either both of them had been in a life threatening situation, and Loki had placed himself in the path of danger to protect Thor.

Once all of this was over, Loki needed to let Thor know the truth. He didn't want things to be this way, and missed the old days were they were both naive children, unburdened with the knowledge that life wasn't as wonderful as all those heroic stories painted it to be.

"Why brother, why have you done this?" Thor's voice broke Loki out of the sudden down – spiral that his thoughts had taken, the words soft but full of such misery that he couldn't help but drop his head onto Thor's shoulder. The blonde Asgardian was startled at this, the last time Loki had done so had been when they were younger, months before Thor's coronation.

"Because I have no choice. I need stronger allies, or many lives will be lost." Loki murmured, reluctantly removing himself from Thor's side as he looked towards the staircase looming in front of him. The sceptre morphed into a staff in his hand, giving him the support that he needed. "Leave while you can, I have no doubt things will get messy. You have my thanks Dr. Banner." Making his way slowly to the stairs, Loki ascended up to the third level, unaware of the heated debate that was to come.

-o0o-

Thor's expression was of total devastation as Loki disappeared up onto the third floor, but Tony was more concerned over what Loki had told them. Now that he thought about it, throughout the past year and a half that they had to face Loki in battle, they had gotten better with fighting against the Trickster. But Thor always informed them that Loki was pulling his punches, but over the past few encounters had steadily been fighting them with more seriousness.

Then it hit him.

"Son of a bitch."

Tony muttered, running a hand through his hair and pacing, the others looked at him in confusion.

He had all the variables now, the only one that had been eluding him in the equation that was Loki.

The variable he didn't have was a clear motive for all the attacks.

And now that he knew all the variables, everything fell into place.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Bruce grabbed Tony by the shoulder and forcing the genius to look at them.

"I can't believe I didn't notice this sooner. It was so obvious!" Tony whined, while pulling the suit back on, making the others even more confused.

"Tony, buddy. We aren't all geniuses here. Could you share with the rest of the class?" Clint asked while checking the battery life on the flashlights, keeping an eye out for any sign of dogs or anything that could be a threat. Pulling the faceplate up, Tony gestured to the stairs while getting JARVIS to pull up the map of the floor so they could locate the third floor map that was stored nearby.

"It's all been a test. Thor said he's never fought us seriously. Because he's been testing us since the beginning. He's making us function better as a team, I've made better gear, we've come up with better strategies, everything. Whatever he's talking about, he knows there's something big coming, and he needs strong allies to help stop it. He's made us better by fighting us, so when the planet is threatened, we'll be able to handle it. That's what he's been doing this entire time. And I think it started with the invasion."

"What are you getting at Tony?" Steve was equally as confused as the rest of them, but hope was blooming on Thor's face. "The invasion Cap. It was all too easy. We've seen his power, he could have easily destroyed the helicarrier, but he let us keep it up in the air. The failsafe, you saw how he took the sceptre with him everywhere, he wouldn't let anyone else touch it. Yet he left it so conveniently on the tower for Natasha to shut the portal down. He set it up to fail." Natasha made a small choked sound, connecting the dots.

"When he came through the portal, at the SHIELD base." Clint muttered, he was the only one to see the state Loki had been out of them all, the camera's had crashed when the portal opened. "He looked completely exhausted, bags under his eyes and he was staggering. He looked like he had gone through hell and back." Now it was Thor's turn to gasp, eyes wide as he seemed to realise something.

"Thor, what is it?" Tony turned to the Asgardian, hoping that he would get more facts so they knew what or who they could be facing with in the future. "When Loki fell into the Void, I tried to find as much information as I could, hoping there was a way to bring him back. I found nothing that could help, but it is said there are, things, in the Void. Horrible things. The Void is a place of exile, no one who had been banished there ever survived." Thor looked uneasy as he spoke, it was probably a good thing he didn't give any more detailed information about what could lurk in the Void.

"So, when he fell, he met something there. Then came to Earth, and probably had to bring the Tesseract to whatever was in the Void. And whatever that thing may be, if it gets out it's going to kill a lot of people." Tony mused, an educated guess with the very few snippets of information at his disposal.

"That . . ." Natasha began, frowning as she bit her bottom lip in thought. "Actually sounds like it could be correct." Tony couldn't help but smile at this, he wasn't a genius for nothing.

"Okay, so are we going to follow him and help? Because I would like to be out of here as soon as possible." Clint was already rummaging through the hidden room underneath the stairs and pulled out a thin metal container containing the floor plan for the third floor. "He's lost a lot of blood, combine that with whatever is draining our energy, it would be the best option." Bruce commented, handing Thor what remained of his cape (there was a small section of cloth missing from the end).

"Let's just hope he hasn't gone far from the stairs." Steve murmured, looking at the floor plan, it was just as illogical as the rest of the asylum.

-o0o-

 _"Huh, so he's been training them . . ."_

It was rather amusing, pretending to be the villain in order to strengthen the world's protectors.

 _Master? Is everything alright?_

Glancing to Alexandria, he let out a large sigh and motioned for his child to come near. Alexandria did so, lingering by his side but he would have none of that. Hauling the large feline onto the couch (it had been salvaged from a scrap yard in the nearby town, luckily his children were able to bring it back with them), he placed Alexandria's head in his lap, smoothing the fur on her head down.

 _"How many times have I told you Alexandria? You are my child, yet all my children do not call me father."_

Alexandria let out a huff but burrowed her head under his arm, she wished to call him father but all of them had agreed to call him master, there were only a certain few who deserved to call their master, father. The two sat there in silence, simply enjoying each other's company while they waited for the right time to begin the test that Loki had to face.

But as much as he loved the company of his children, he did have a breaking point.

 _Master?_

Alexandria bumped his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.

 _"I'm just so tired, Alexandria. I hate what I've become."_

 _But it is not your fault master, we all know that. And you do seem to have faith in this sorcerer, perhaps he is the one?_

Sighing, he leant back into the couch backrest while staring up at the ceiling. Alexandria kept silent, knowing that there was a line and she was very close to crossing it.

After several minutes of silence, he gave her an answer.

 _"I hope so. It's been years, since I've seen a face round here. I rather not have to kill this one. He is much more interesting than all the others."_

-o0o-

"Why does this floor seem creepier than the rest?"

Loki faltered in his tracks, glancing back down the hallway only to see Thor and the Avengers were there, and looked determined to follow him. "You imbeciles, with his focus on me you should have been able to leave without trouble. Are you that foolish to rush to your deaths?" Barton shrugged, looking back down at a piece of paper held in Romanoff's hands.

"This floor did house the schizophrenia patients, the lunatics, epileptic fits and the dissociative identity disorder patients. I guess they must have done some damage during the riot. We're in the epileptic fits wing." Stark muttered, while looking around the bloodied hall.

"You, you have a map?" Loki couldn't even bother to hide the surprise in his voice, at this point he was beyond caring about his appearance or speech. "Yep, second floor as well. The head doctor left the second floor map in his office, third floor was underneath the stairs. Fourth floor map is in the south wing." Stark replied while inspecting some scrawls that had been scratched into the wall by a blunt instrument, opening the faceplate of his suit.

"Uh, 'Tasha? I think I found something. Looks like its Latin." Now this, was something Loki had to check himself. Beforehand he had only found the English words of madmen praying for mercy written in blood on the walls, but not anything in another language. Staggering over (his body was rather weary at this point), he stood by Stark and Romanoff, both staring at the etched in words.

 _Obliti_ _enim sunt in sedibus errat spargens beatitudine pertimescit quocumque ierit._

"Know what it means?" Rogers enquired while he, Banner and Thor kept looking over the map. Ah yes, Barton had mentioned Romanoff knew how to read Latin when he had nothing to do during the invasion.

Romanoff glanced over the words, her face paling slightly as she translated it in her head. "Natasha? I don't like that look." Barton murmured, shining the flashlight on the words that were oddly on the only wall without blood smeared on it. "It certainly doesn't sound good." She muttered back, tracing a finger over the words as she gave them the translation.

 _"The forgotten one roams these halls, spreading misery and fear wherever he goes."_

Loki felt himself shiver at those words, he clearly did not know what manner of being he had been dealing with. But he needed to focus on the riddle that had been set.

"When you cannot face yourself? What could he be meaning?" Loki mulled over the words, what could he be implicating in the riddle? His murmuring caught Stark's attention, (which was good as it would be better to have another's opinion on the matter,) who had a raised eyebrow for some reason.

"Reflections?" Stark somehow managed to shrug his shoulders in his suit, but Loki was more concerned about what Stark had just said. "Reflections, that's it! You said there was a wing that held the dissociative identity disorder patients. I came across documents on the first floor explaining how they treated their patients. With those patients, they had mirrors installed in every room. That's the answer. To start the test I need to face my reflection!" Loki grinned now, he was finally getting somewhere!

"It's the south wing." Banner answered, looking slightly bemused at something on the map. "Funnily enough, I think there's a pattern in these floor plans. Some are just nonsense, but some are there for a reason. The south wing rooms form the letters D. I. D. If you look at the lines separating the rooms."

The sooner he started the test, the sooner they could leave.

"Then, let us make our way to the South Wing." Thor declared, striding over and despite Loki's protests, grabbed Loki's free arm and placed it over his shoulders, his other arm wrapped around the shorter Aesir's back. The Avenger's looked rather bemused as Thor half dragged, half carried Loki down the hallway, the latter finally giving in and leaning against Thor for support.

It looked like the two brothers could finally repair the bond they used to have between them.

However, as they all trekked off down through the blood stained hall, none of them truly knew how much this experience would bring them all together.

-o0o-

 _"I suppose, that more than one test is in order."_

-o0o-

 _A/N: Hope you enjoyed! The chapter title is from the FFVII Dirge Of Cerberus soundtrack called Uneasy Feelings. I was listening to my iPod and it came on, and I thought how well it would go with them walking through the asylum halls._

 _Very short Author Note this time. Please review and tell me what you thought!_

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	6. Apologies! Slight Delay!

_Hi, LiulfrLokison here!_

 _I'm really sorry to say this but the next chapter of the story is going to be delayed due to . . . real life problems. It's not anything serious, like a family member died or being admitted to hospital, it's just time management is a problem for me. I have stupidly gotten behind on planning out my timetable for this year, and the university assignments snuck up on me. I've been writing up my Greek translations rather late at night, and at the moment I've got two assignments that are due on the 22nd. One of them should be easy to get written up, but my main problem is an essay I've got to write for Classic studies, 2000 words with evidence, referencing, the basic stuff. So I need to pull myself away from this story until I've completed the two assignments. Also I've just been rather tired lately (I had a blood test yesterday and my arm is still rather sore), and the current chapter is coming along slowly. The OC isn't that motivated at the moment, he's sort of in a daze because I haven't given him enough attention. But I have definitely not lost my motivation for this story, I'm really invested in it!_

 _Just to clear up a detail that_ **Bittersweet Alchemist** _asked in their review, if you're confused about how the OC's mood is contradictory, this detail will be cleared up in later chapters. Also, he is sort of spastic._

 _Thanks for reading the story as always, and hopefully I'll finish up these assignments so I can get back on track with this story!_

 _Just wanted to let you know so that I don't keep you waiting for a chapter that won't be up for at least a week!_

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	7. Chp 5: In The Hell I Call My Home

_Hello! LiulfrLokison here! I am so sorry for the long long delay! The last few bits of this chapter was really tough for me to write, the OC was very influential with the emotions! But yeah, it's a much longer chapter than the others ones, so I hope you enjoy. I also realised while going through the story I forgot to confirm who the OC is based off, and I'll quickly place it here. He is based off the physical form of Pitch Black, but his body is not proportionate because when I was trying to draw the OC based off a drawing I found of Pitch, it turned out like what I've described. The OC promptly told me he liked being disproportionate and would screech and curse at me if I redrew him to look normal._

 _A big thank you to_ _ **BluemoonMusicGirl**_ _,_ _ **nedrag94**_ _and_ _ **wouldbewriter23**_ _for following/favoriting my story, when I see the notifications in my email my day is always made a bit brighter!_

 _OC: Yes, yes, it makes me all fuzzy inside too, but come on with the story already! They must see my brilliant performance!  
LiulfrLokison: Alright, alright, here we go. *sighs deeply*_

 _I do not own any character in this story besides my lovely OC, if I were to own Marvel then all my favourite pairings would be officially canon. And I doubt that everyone would agree with me, especially those who are against said pairings._

 _AND HERE'S THE CHAPTER!_

 ** _Chapter 5: In The Hell I Call My Home_**

-o0o-

Compared to the previous floors, part of the third floor was inhabited by creatures that none of them had wanted to face.

Spiders.

But these weren't your ordinary household sized spiders, they were spiders the size of large dogs.

They had first come across the spiders when they decided to go through the east wing to get to the south wing. None of them wanted to see what lay in store for them in the west wing (as Loki explained the emotions of the previous patients had seeped into the very walls of the building), and as the west wing was where the lunatic's had been . . .

None of them wanted to know how it would affect them.

So they had gone to the door separating the east wing from the northern wing, but the moment they stepped in they encountered one of the monstrous spiders crawling along a wall. It had taken a second for that fact to sink in for all of them, luckily Loki had been quick enough to slam the door close with his magic just as the spider jumped at them. There was a horrifying squealing noise from it as they heard the spider collide with the door, the outline of its shadow on the thick glass embedded in the doors.

"That was a jumping spider." Bruce commented, being the only other person to actually get a proper look at the arachnid's markings before the doors had slammed shut. "I thought so, that spider wasn't the only one down in that room." Loki groaned as he held a hand against his forehead, clearly not wanting to have to face the spiders. "You know, I think I've seen those spiders before." Tony's remark made all of them turn to him, wondering where on earth he would have seen a spider like that before.

"It's from Eight Legged Freaks, a movie about spiders encountering toxic waste, growing to enormous sizes and attacking a town. Made in 2002." Now they were all baffled, what was a spider from a fictional movie doing running around in an asylum? "In the movie, is there a giant female orb – weaver spider that actually looks like a black widow?" Loki queried, did that mean the creature's master was able to bring ideas to life?

"Yeah, that one is the leader of all the spiders. It's the only one with a name, Consuela." Tony shuddered as he recalled what the spider had looked like, he regretted watching that movie but now was glad he did, he could recognize what they were up against. "Why were you watching a monster spider movie?" Barton asked with a raised eyebrow, only very few people would be interested in those sort of things.

"There was nothing really else to watch on, and I heard some people talking about it. So I gave it a shot the next time I had finished an inventing binge." Tony shrugged, pulling up the digital version of the third floor map that JARVIS had taken a scan of. "There's another way to the South Wing, without having to go through the East wing. We just need to go further down this hall, turn the corner, and take a right once we're through the door. It's a long corridor and then we take the left, and go down that hall. Then we're in the South Wing." It was a little more tedious but better than facing a nest of spiders that large.

What had probably happened was the spiders had managed to break through the ceiling from the floor below, but hopefully their master had made some precautions so that they couldn't escape that wing. Because if Loki was trying to complete the test, he certainly didn't want to have to fend off hordes of horror movie beasts at the same time.

"That sounds like a good idea. Let's go before more of those spiders turn up." Steve sounded rather glad to be moving away from the spider infested hallway.

-o0o-

"Well, that was pleasant."

Compared to the hell they had already been through, the path they took had no hindrances, monsters or gigantic spiders leaping out at them from the darkness, allowing them to relax. The only thing there was to creep them out was the random scribbling on the walls of begging, pleading and rambling from the previous patients, all written in several different languages.

By the time they reached the south wing, Thor seemed to be feeling the effects of the energy drainage. His skin had paled slightly, sweat building on his brow. But it was quite obvious how Loki was feeling, he was so pale it was like looking at porcelain, his skin was clammy and his whole body twitched or spasmed frequently. The green eyed Aesir looked ready to almost keel over and die on the spot, which made even Barton's stomach roil.

The sooner they got this test over, the sooner they could leave. Shoving the thick rusted doors open with a painful screech, the team let out a sigh of relief as nothing terrifying or straight out of a horror movie leapt at them from the darkened halls. Apparently the mysterious man (only Loki had truly seen his appearance and refused to describe it) decided to give them a little help by lighting up the halls. Which seemed to only make it worse, as the lights flickered and spat sparks, briefly lighting up the peeling wallpaper and questionable stains leaking from underneath sealed doors.

It only made them question what had occurred during the last days before the asylum was closed down.

"Found a mirror." Barton called from where he stood by a door, holding it ajar. Half of the plaque on the door was covered in a blood smeared handprint, but the etched in words were still visible.

 _D.I.D Patient Room 01_

Underneath the plaque was a note, the words written in looping handwriting that wouldn't be out of place in a Shakespearean script.

 _The moment you step beyond these doors,  
There is no going back.  
So choose young one your fate in hand,  
For love is what you lack. _

"A ballad?" Stark looked at the note in confusion, but Thor was looking at Loki with a tear stained face, seeing the truth in the ballad. (You don't spend centuries listening to ballads being sung in the halls and not understand their meaning). Letting out a deep breath, Loki placed his fingers on the handle, pulling the door that slid open smoothly, as if it had been just oiled.

"Brother, I – " Thor began, but the look on Loki's face when the younger glanced back made the blonde god falter. "This is something I must face alone Thor. If I survive this ordeal, we will talk. Have some faith in me for once." The neutral line Loki's lips had taken changed into a wry smile, and at the slight nod Thor gave, (Thor did not trust his voice at the moment) Loki stepped into the room, the door slamming shut as soon as he passed the threshold.

"So, do we just wait now?" Barton asked, looking at the others who were unsure of what to do. There was no telling how long the test Loki had to complete would take, and none of them wished to encounter anything else in the asylum.

 _"_ _Oh, no. You'll be rather busy."_

-o0o-

The silky voice of the man broke through the darkness, making all of them jump and turn to face him.

The first thought that sprang to Tony's mind was _this guy looks a lot like Pitch Black_. Which was echoed in the others minds, they had all seen the movie but the being standing before them was much more than a simple bogeyman.

 _"_ _You see, Loki was the only one I was interested in at first, but seeing that he has so much interest in making your team stronger . . . I thought I'd lend a helping hand."_

The smile on his face belonged to a deranged lunatic, and did not help to ease the panic that spread through their bodies.

 _"_ _He isn't the only one that needs to face his greatest fear. And it wouldn't be fair if he was the only one undergoing a trial. So, after much deliberation, I decided you'll be joining him. Have fun!"_ The man cackled and clicked his fingers, and their vision was enveloped in dark mist.

 _"_ _Oh, this will be entertaining!"_

-o0o-

Whatever that mist had been, it dissipated rather quickly.

Coughing, Steve opened his eyes, and froze. The hallway was empty, there was no sign of the team anywhere. What had that man done?

 _"_ _There's no need to fret, dear captain. They're just somewhere else for now."_

He spun around, ready to throw his shield at the man but the moment he saw those golden eyes, he faltered. Those golden orbs were full of madness, but deep within their depths all he could see was a man tired and confused of the world around him. In those eyes, he saw himself.

"Why are you doing this?" Steve asked, his voice steady but his eyes wavered with apprehension. The man settled his arms behind his back, staring down at Steve but not at him, it was almost as if he was looking through Steve. A moment of silence passed between them, and then the man spoke.

 _"_ _Because I can. Now Captain, if you walk down this hallway and through those doors, you will find your team."_ The man gestured to the long hallway and the double doors that separated him and the team. _"Or, you can pass through this door and face your fears. And if you return once you have defeated your greatest fear, you will come back as a stronger man to protect your team. Your team has the same option."_

A grey door stood in front of him, the same type of door that Loki had passed through. But the Plaque said _D.I.D Patient Room 02_ on the door instead.

"And are they taking the second option?" The man paused, staring up at the ceiling for a second before nodding. "They are still deciding."

Letting out a deep breath, Steve made up his mind. If he needed to be stronger for his team, then he would take the opportunity before him.

"I'll take the door."

Something flashed through the man's golden irises, something Steve could not describe, but the man gestured to the door and there pinned on the handle was a note.

 _A captain who gave up his life for the many,  
Now he is lost in time.  
A choice he must make, now lies in wait,  
To which does he say goodbye?_

Staring at the words, he tried to see what clues the note held but the man plucked it off the door, holding it out to him. _"Hold onto it. It will bring you back if you succeed."_ Steve took it from the man's ashen fingers, the paper was thick and look rather like parchment but that didn't matter at the moment.

Nodding to the man, Steve took the door handle and pulled it open.

Stepping into the darkened room beyond, the Captain hoped he was prepared for what was to come.

-o0o-

The mist covered everything, and it was a strain to hold her breath. The moment the mist vanished, Natasha took in a deep gulp of air and was alarmed to see she was alone in the hallway. She hadn't heard anything to indicate they had been separated, and she hadn't been physically moved. So what had happened?

 _"_ _Nothing. You're all in the same hallway as the others. But you just can't see them."_

Spinning around, Natasha trained both her guns at the man's head, but it only made him laugh. _"Mortal weapons have no effect on me. I wouldn't even try and waste your bullets."_ The man grinned, hands clasped together behind his back as he leered down at Natasha, seeming to drink in her nervousness. "What do you want?" She slowly put her guns back into their holsters, hoping to gain valuable information out of the man but had a feeling he would talk in riddles.

 _"_ _Like I said, I decided to give Loki a helping hand in training you. You have two options. Either walk down this hallway and through those doors, you will find your team. Or, enter this door, and face your fears. If you succeed, you will return as a stronger person. One capable of facing those who know about your past."_

Flinching at his words, Natasha glanced over her shoulder to see a grey metal door, the plaque reading _D.I.D Patient Room 03_. There was a note pinned on the door, but she couldn't see the words as she was too far away to make them out. "What happens if I fail?" She had to know her options, if there was a chance she could fail . . .

 _"_ _Since you were not the one to make the deal with me, you'll come back in one piece, perhaps slightly traumatized."_ The man replied, stepping close enough that Natasha could smell something like graveyard soil and the sharp metallic scent of blood coming off the man.

But there was sincerity in his eyes, a thing she did not expect to see. _"Not everyone is proud of their past, but it is what makes us who we are. If you choose to embrace it or not, that is your choice."_ The man suddenly spoke, breaking her out of the small trance she had fallen into.

But it was his words that made her decide what she was going to do.

"I'll choose the door."

The man smiled, and gestured towards the note which was surprisingly made out of thick pale parchment, the words written in a brilliant shade of crimson ink.

 _The woman with blood staining her past,  
Leaving it all behind.  
But blood doesn't wash away all that easy,  
Now she must face her crime. _

Plucking the note off the handle, Natasha couldn't help but bite her bottom lip as she read the words, but knew she would be facing much worse than what was written here.

As she clasped the door handle, she glanced back to the man who was watching her with a small smile on his face, as if he was a proud parent watching their dearest child taking the first step into adulthood. "Are you proud of your past?"

The man's smile remained on his face, but his eyes glimmered with regret. _"Everyone always wishes they could change something in their past. I am no different."_

Satisfied with her answer, Natasha stepped through the doorframe and into the room beyond.

-o0o-

"Okay, weird hoodoo mist. Check."

Tony was rather glad he had the suit on, JARVIS couldn't detect what the mist was made of, and that could spell trouble for his body. _"Sir the mist has dissipated. However I cannot detect the rest of the team."_ Tony didn't believe it, but what JARVIS said was true. It was just him left in the hallway, there was no sign of the others at all.

 _"_ _No need to panic, you'll be reunited with your family soon."_

Tony would have jumped, but the suit wasn't calibrated to make small movements like that.

"Family? What are you talking about?" Tony tried to sound cocky, but his voiced wavered slightly. And the pale skinned man easily picked up on it. _"Oh, you know what I mean. You see them as a family, the one you never had."_ The man was behind him, spider – like fingers trailing across the shoulders of his suit, fingernails rasping and leaving scratch marks in the paint.

 _"_ _You'd do anything for them, because you're afraid of losing them. Family is everything to you, because they're the ones closest to your heart and even if they betray you, you still love them."_ Strangely, Tony could swear he heard something wistful in the man's voice, as if reminiscing something from the past.

"What would you know about family? You're sort of loco." Tony couldn't help but taunt the man, he had nothing else to go on, hoping that the golden eyed man would spill some information from anger. The man only smiled though, circling around him like a hawk. _"Hmm, yes. That tactic, rile up the enemy and hope they spill the beans. Nice try, but I have a good lid on my temper. Calling me loco isn't really an insult, I've been called worse over the years. But family, I used to have one you see, and that was all taken away from me."_

Tony could swear he saw longing flash through those golden eyes, but it disappeared too quickly before he could confirm it had been there.

 _"_ _You have two options. Head down that hallway and through the doors to meet your team, or enter this door to face your fear. If you succeed, you'll return a stronger man, and be able to protect your family from the threat that is approaching."_

Tony looked at the two large double doors, and then to the single grey door in front of him with the plaque _D.I.D Patient Room 04_. His desire to protect his team, the closest thing he had to a family, becoming stronger to protect them, was a very tempting offer. But the man said if he succeeded, and he didn't want to know what would happen if he failed.

 _"_ _The longer you wait, the longer they are exposed to danger. Some have accepted, and some are deciding. What is your choice?"_

The man wore a blank expression, all signs of madness had vanished, but Tony could almost sense the waves of insanity rolling off the man. This was the closest he would get to being serious with this strange man.

"I accept." He couldn't believe he was doing this, but if there was a chance he could protect his family, he would take it.

 _"_ _Good choice."_ The man murmured, a note appeared on the door like the one on Loki's.

 _A man who wears a metal mask,  
The iron from his past.  
Bearing the weight and strain of the world,  
His heart made from glass._

Staring at the note, Tony couldn't help but feel it was more cryptic that Loki's one. Tearing it off the door and holding it in his hand, Tony pulled the door open, staring into the inky black beyond.

As he looked back, he couldn't help but notice the small smile on the man's face.

-o0o-

The mist had been a surprise, but not the buzzing in his ears. Wincing, Clint pulled out his hearing aids, and was startled to see they were sparking slightly in the diminished lighting. He did have spares, but it still wasn't pleasant to have his usual pair short out.

 _"_ _Ah, my bad."_ The grey skinned man grasped his hand suddenly, causing Clint to realise the mist had dispersed, but the tight grip on his fingers was the bigger problem at hand. Staring up into those golden eyes, Clint realised that he had heard the man's words even though his hearings aids were not in. _"I'm speaking into your head imbecile."_ The man sighed, removing his hands to reveal his hearing aids but they were in perfect condition.

 _"_ _You'll need them for the trials ahead."_ Well, that wasn't at all foreboding. Placing the aids back into his ears, Clint glanced back up at the man but was well prepared to reach for his knife. "What do you mean, trials?" The man gave him a grin, straightening up and gesturing towards the double doors down the hallway. _"You can choose to either go through there and reunite with your team. Or you can choose that door and face the trials, your fears. If you succeed, you'll return a stronger person and can protect your team from any further mind games."_

Clint stiffened, he was fairly sure he knew what the man was referring to. The memories of so easily serving someone else was fresh in his mind, and he wouldn't want to curse that fate on anyone.

So of course it wasn't hard for him to decide.

"But what happens if I fail?" He had to know what the consequences were before throwing himself headfirst into danger. _"Nothing life threatening. You'll come back in one piece, perhaps a little traumatized but it would only fuel your desire to prevent the same happening to your teammates."_

"Fine. I'll take the door option." Clint fiddled with his hearing aids, making sure that they were secure before approaching the door labelled _D.I.D Patient Room 05_. _"Good choice."_ The man murmured, smiling brightly as Clint plucked the note off the door and peered at the words.

 _An archer and fighter all rolled in one,  
Firing with great precision.  
But his sight can do only so much,  
Mind cracking needs no permission. _

Yep, this was definitely going to fuck with his head. Clint couldn't help but glance back towards the man, who stood there with an eerie grin on his face, but there was a look of self – loathing on his face. "What's your thoughts on messing with another person's mind?" The man's expression changed to a thoughtful look, and he tapped his fingers against his arm.

 _"_ _To play with another person's mind for your own gain is despicable. The only reason I would delve into another's mind would be if it was for their own benefit or to torture those who dare to cross me or the people I care about. Something that I have had to do many times in the past. It isn't pleasant."_ The man scowled, a golden eye twitching as if recalling something that infuriated him.

As glad as Clint was to know this man had a similar outlook on the subject, he still felt a chill go down his spine as he crossed the threshold.

-o0o-

The mist that had fallen upon the group had been unlike any mist Thor had encountered ever before. It was thick and heavy, his limbs felt like he had been wrestling with a bilgesnipe for hours. But as soon as it came, it was gone, leaving him blinking in the dim lighting and straining to see.

When his sight adjusted to the faint light in the hallway, it was to his utter surprise that he found he was alone, still in the same hallway they had all been together but his shield brothers and sister were nowhere to be found.

 _"_ _There is no need to worry, Thunderer. They are unharmed."_ Thor threw Mjolnir at the ashen skinned man, who merely stepped out of the hammers path with a look of boredom on his face.

But to his horror, the man grasped the mighty weapon's strap as it flew by, instead of dropping to the ground from the hammer's weight, it simply hung from his fingers, as if the weight wasn't even a hindrance to the man. _"Hmm, interesting."_ The man murmured as he grasped Mjolnir by the handle, before chucking it back to Thor who stared down at his weapon in alarm. If Mjolnir was correct (and it was always correct), then this man (at this point he was fairly sure the man was not of Midgardian descent) was worthy. Judging from how Mjolnir was buzzing, his weapon was uncertain about who was more worthy between them.

 _"_ _Don't bother, your current owner is a far better person to wield you than I."_ The man muttered, his tone was filled with annoyance and yet exasperation, sighing deeply before looking at Thor again. _"Asgardian, you have two choices. You may join your teammates if you exit through those doors, or you can face your fears and become a person who is even more worthy of ruling your kingdom."_ His words made Thor frown, this man was worthy enough to wield Mjolnir, so what was a mighty being doing in a place like this?

As if sensing his distracting thoughts, the man gave him a sharp glare. _"I can see why your brother is annoyed at you all the time. You over – think things too much. You will choose either option 1 or option 2. I do not have time to cater to your every whim."_ The tone of the man's voice made Thor freeze, he felt as if he was being scolded by his father.

"What of my shield brothers and sister? What have they chosen?" The man seemed slightly irritated by his question, those golden eyes burned with fury and irritation. _"This is your choice, and should not be influenced by others. That is why you have so easily been ignorant of your brother's predicaments in the past. This is your decision, and if you do not make your choice soon I will ensure that you will never see any of your shield brothers or sister again!"_

The man's voice rumbled, a feral sound building in his throat that made Thor flinch back and fear flooded his veins.

This only seemed to irritate the man even more, the annoyance in his eyes soon turned to madness, and Thor could see the black mist creeping out from underneath the man's robes.

 _"Choose you imbecile! Before I lose my temper and let my children tear you to pieces!"_ The man shrieked, taking several steps back, his golden eyes flashing while an insane grin began to grow on his face.

It only took Thor a few seconds to decide.

"The second option."

The man's grin grew wider, his fanged teeth dripping with black blood but he quickly pointed to the grey door behind Thor, labelled with a plaque with the words _D.I.D Patient Room 06_ engraved into the metal. A note was on the door like his brother's, thick parchment that wouldn't be out of place in the Royal Library.

 _The Thunderer, the mighty, the god of the storms,  
A kingdom he now must rule.  
But can he keep his anger in check,  
The people are not all fools. _

Clutching the note in his hand and grasping the door handle, Thor glanced back to the man and was terrified to see he was sitting on the ground with several knives clutched in his hands, scraping foreign letters into the walls. Black mist seeped from his robes and his fingers dripped with black glistening blood. When those golden eyes looked at him, glimmering with absolute loathing, Thor wouldn't deny that he had let out a squeak of fear before throwing himself in the darkened room beyond the door.

The last thing he heard before the door slammed shut, was the insane cackling that was being issued from the man's mouth.

-o0o-

He hadn't been expecting the black mist, neither had the Other Guy.

It didn't seem to irritate the Other Guy, so Bruce assumed it was safe to breathe. But when the mist died down, everyone else was gone, leaving him along in the hallway. But he certainly wasn't prepared for the sound of metal shrieking against concrete. Turning on his heel, his eyes widened as he saw the ashen skinned man sitting on the ground behind him, muttering in a foreign language and scratching words into the wall, but not in a language he could recognize. The mutterings sounded rather like curse words, and judging from how the man's eyes were twitching, Bruce could see the man was clearly irritated at something.

The black coloured liquid dripping from the man's fingers sparked an urge inside him to see if the man was injured, as the liquid had a metallic smell and was most likely blood.

After staring at the man for a while, Bruce could see the irritation had seeped out of the man, the knives vanished and the blood stopped flowing.

 _"Thank you, you are far much more easier to deal with than that foolish blonde Asgardian."_ The man groaned, remaining where he was on the ground but pulled his knees to his chest, glaring at the wall as if it had greatly offended him. "You mean Thor?" Bruce had a feeling that the man would be more receptive to him if he approached without fearing him. The Other Guy didn't feel threatened by the man, but was rather curious in fact.

 _"Yes, I knew the Asgardian's were impudent and easily swayed by their emotions, but I at least expected some control by one who is supposed to be their future King."_ The man grumbled, inspecting his bloodied nails with a frown on his face. Bruce slowly sat down next to the man, being a scientist he was always rather inquisitive about the new things he had encountered. And this man was a simply a new mystery, just waiting to be cracked open. _"Let's just get this over and done with. I guess there are other places you want to be than in here. I rather be."_ The man grumbled, it sounded to Bruce like there was a story behind that, but wasn't sure if the man was willing to tell him about it.

"Let's hear it then." Bruce replied, the silence was making him start to miss the team, which he wouldn't deny if any of them were to ask him at the moment.

 _"You have two choices. Either go through that door and your team will be waiting. Or, you may pass through this door and face your fear. If you succeed, you will return as a stronger person, one who will understand and be able to face the destruction that will soon be upon you all."_

Bruce glanced at the double doors, but also at the single door with _D.I.D Patient Room 07_ etched into the plaque. If Loki was desperate enough to make a deal (and the consequences didn't sound at all pleasant to him), then the oncoming threat was one that would require all their power. And if he had to face his fears to become stronger, than what other choice did he have?

"I'll take the door, if that's alright." He saw a small sincere smile appear on the man's face before he stood with a flourish, the robe dramatically swirling around him. _"Then, good doctor, you will need this."_ A thick piece of paper appeared in his hands, fingers brushing Bruce's hands as the paper was placed in his hand. Bruce just managed to stop himself from shivering as the ice cold skin touched him, the Other Guy made a small warning grumble in the back of his mind.

But Bruce looked down at the paper, feeling a chill in his veins as he read what was inked onto the parchment.

 _A scientist, a beast, a green monster of rage,  
A product created by war.  
But for all the control he claims to have,  
How long can he hold on for?_

His body shook for a second, as he considered the words and what he might face beyond the rusted door. Taking a deep breath, Bruce let it out slowly as he prepared his mind for what was to come. And as he grasped the metal handle in his fingers, he turned to the man with one last question in his mind.

"Will you be alright?"

His question seemed to throw the man off, golden eyes widening with surprise but quickly morphing into amusement. _"There is no need to worry about me, good doctor. I have survived three hundred years roaming these halls, I think another day won't do much damage to my mind."_ But those golden eyes softened, Bruce couldn't help but feel sorry for the man, only having his children for comfort and most likely limited human interaction.

And so, he entered the room beyond with one thought in mind.

He wanted to help the man escape from this place, even if the Other Guy had to drag him out.

-o0o-

The final door was shut, and the man heard the doctor's thought ringing in his mind.

All the pieces were in place, and if things went according to plan, the gates would finally be opened.

And when they did, he would relish the first taste of freedom it would bring.

-o0o-

 _A/N: And so, we've been given a bit more details about the OC! His name will turn up in later chapters, and if you're able to see the hints throughout this chapter (but I'm not sure if you'll be able to see it) the reason why his mood changes so quickly. If you think you know it, feel free to guess in a review! You guys are enjoying it right? I don't want to offend or creep people out with this story, but if you're enjoying it then I feel soo much better about uploading this. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'll probably throw myself into the next chapter after deliberating whose trial to write first, the numbers on the door aren't actually the number of whose trial is first, I just randomly assigned it. Please let me know whose trial you want first! I'M NOT REALLY SURE AT THE MOMENT! I'll probably wait for two days and if it's still uncertain, then I'll just pick who I feel is right. I'm on a week break from university, so I think I could plow through and write up the next chapter pretty quickly._

 _The chapter title is a line from a Five Night's At Freddy's song by NateWantsToBattle, called Salvaged, I really enjoy his songs._

 _With that said, have a wonderful day!_

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	8. Chp 6: Keeping Emotions In Check

_Hello! LiulfrLokison here again! Well, sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I ended up catching a cold a few days ago and was absolutely miserable. I'm nearly over it, which is lucky cause I've got to start the second half of my university semester tomorrow. This chapter also took a while because it was a little hard to write Bruce's trial, it took me several times as I went over the sentences. But, I've finished it finally, so disclaimer and then there's the chapter!_

 _OC: Yes, the usual. LiulfrLokison does not own any of the Marvel characters, only myself is her property in this story. If she were to own the Marvel characters, then they would be very confused at the madness that would occur._

 ** _Chapter 6: Keeping Emotions In Check_**

-o0o-

Everything was dark, but a faint light glimmered over the filthy mirror that was embedded in the wall ahead of him.

The closer he came to the mirror, the easier it was to see what covered it.

By the time Bruce stood in front of the reflective glass, he could see it was clearly overridden by with vines that crawled from the walls and years of built up grime, but showed him how he appeared, skin pale and sweaty from all the running around they had done. The rest of the room was completely dark, and he would have easily believed there was nothing else in the room except himself, if not for the faint whispers he heard coming behind him.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Bruce focused on the feel of the parchment in his hand, taking deep breaths to calm himself before opening his eyes to gaze at the mirror again. How was he supposed to start the trial? The only clue he could think of was how the man said he had to face his fears . . .

Staring at the mirror, it took him a few seconds before making his first move.

Pocketing the paper, Bruce reached out and grasped one of the vines, tugging at the plant which refused to budge one inch. But he hadn't been prepared for when the vine slithered almost like a serpent around his wrist, and at its touch the mirror warped, changing from just his reflection to a scene all too familiar to him.

One that often haunted his dreams.

He saw a ruined city before him, crumbling and falling to pieces, crushed bodies filled the streets and blood flowed like a river, painting the roads crimson.

In the middle of it all, stood the Hulk.

Bruce watched as the Other Guy jumped from the pile of rubble that was all that remained of the Tower, wandering through the streets that his own hands had destroyed in a fit of rage, that Bruce had been powerless to stop. The few people left alive scurried from building to building, casting fearful eyes to the sky as if praying for something, someone to save them from the living hell that had once been their home.

Amongst the dead were the faces of people he knew, friends, their families, the people that had died at his hand, or the patients he couldn't have saved. Bruce so desperately wanted to turn away from the scene before him, but his body was frozen, eyes transfixed as the Other Guy so desperately tried to change back into Bruce Banner, frustration evident on his face as no matter how much he tried, he could never change back.

 _"So, tell me. What is it that you see?"_

Bruce jolted, finally he was able to break eye contact with the mirror, glancing over his shoulder to find the ashen skinned man standing behind him. He wore an almost bored expression on his face, but his eyes glinted with the faintest amount of hope. Turning back to the mirror, Bruce wet his lips before he felt confident enough to describe what he saw.

"I, I see Manhattan, but it's destroyed. The Other Guy, he destroyed everything. And he can't change back." Bruce couldn't help but clench his fists as he spoke, the absolute terror on the survivor's faces made him hate himself even more. That despite the control he thought he had, he knew that the Other Guy was his own separate person, someone that he wasn't able to fully control regardless of their connection.

 _"But does he regret it?"_

The man's voice cut through his darkening thoughts, letting out a small gasp as he looked back at the mirror, watching the expressions on that green skinned face. The Other Guy's face flickered through several emotions.

First it was rage at the military that shot at him so the survivors could escape, shifting to boredom as he mindlessly roamed the debris filled streets, often switching between self – loathing and anger as he surveyed the destruction he had created, but there was one emotion that stood out the most.

He was lonely.

There was clear regret on his face as the Other Guy stood over the rubble of the Tower, a piece of a shattered blue, red and white shield in his hand, a battered red and gold metal mask in the other. He seemed to sit on the remains of the building for hours, staring at the ruined metal in his hands, a lost expression on his face, before the cycle started all over again.

"He, he does. He misses the team." Bruce managed to choke out as he watched the Other Guy shift through the remains of a supermarket, a small family running away from him screaming in terror while clutching the meagre amount of supplies they had managed to grab. _"And what has this told you? What have you learned from what you have seen?"_ Bruce could feel those long thin fingers grasping his shoulders, but in a way that he felt like it was a mentor giving their student encouragement.

Staring again at what the mirror was showing him, Bruce racked his brains trying to think which one of his greatest fears did it represent? He had many fears like any other human being, but this was a fear that he denied having, one that had subconsciously developed without his knowledge.

 _"You have time, be patient and let it come to you."_ Instead of his voice instilling fear, Bruce felt courage in his veins, allowing him to see what he had denied all along.

"I blame myself for the people that have died, be it by my hands or his. It's my fault, that I couldn't save them."

He had always shoved those thoughts into the corners of his mind, denying their existence so he would not cause the team to worry every time they headed out for a battle. But it was something he had to deal with now, or that fear would get the best of him in the future.

 _"So, what is your answer to this fear?"_ The man's robe seemed to lick at his heels, almost ensnaring around his legs in a warm embrace. As he thought of his answer, Bruce couldn't help but feel at ease around this man, he seemed like the kind of person to accept ones demons but still move on in life without letting them hinder himself. A sort of person Bruce aspired to be one day. And now he had his answer.

"I can't save everyone, there will always be a person that I cannot help despite all the power I have. I need to stop blaming and burdening myself about their deaths, so I can help others in the same situations as them."

Letting out a deep breath, Bruce glanced up and was surprised to see a warm and comforting smile on the man's face, golden eyes glimmering with delight like a child who had discovered something most wondrous.

 _"Correct."_

The vine around his arm withered away, releasing his wrist and exposing more of the grimy mirror in front of him. There were two more vines to go, two more fears for him to face.

And strangely, he felt as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders, his heart was lighter than it had ever been before. It was a feeling he welcomed, and judging from the look of the man's face, he felt it too.

 _"Our fears weigh us down, and prevent us from doing what is right. But knowing you are fearful of something is wise, a man who knows no fear is foolish, a man who knows fear is cautious. And when you face your fears and triumph over them, you value your life even more than before."_ The man's fingers squeezed his shoulders lightly as giving him reassurance, which Bruce was very grateful to have.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and grasped another vine, shivering slightly as it coiled around his wrist like the last, the mirror once again showing him a horrific scene.

Except this time there was no blood, just himself standing in front of a set of graves, each bearing the team's names.

His self in the mirror looked tired and lonely, staring at the graves in longing for a respite, for someone who accepted him for who he was, not what he was. It was pouring with rain, but he still stood there despite the downpour, self – loathing and despair on his face. He seemed to stand there for ages, not moving an inch despite Pepper, Rhodey, even Agent Hill trying to persuade him that it wasn't his fault, that he should come and get some rest.

But he refused to budge, tears flowing from his eyes that flickered between brown and green, both him and the Other Guy wept in the graveyard and it didn't seem to end.

 _"And this? What is this fear that has you in such despair?"_ The man's voice wasn't mocking, almost gentle in a sense that made Bruce let out a shaky breath, he had been so transfixed on the scene he nearly forgot how to breathe. Staring back at the scene, Bruce choked on his breath again, quickly tearing his eyes away from the mirror. He couldn't bear to look at the glass, the Other Guy sent distress signals to him and he knew if he looked at the mirror again with that image there, he would certainly lose control.

And if he did, he would most likely fail the test.

Shutting his eyes, Bruce took several deep breaths before opening his eyes to stare at the floor, once again picking through his fears to see what one this particular fear was.

There had been graves, everyone in the team had perished in some sort of battle and he was the only one left. He obviously was blaming himself for some reason, flinging hatred at himself. The others had been adamant it hadn't been his fault the team had died, so it clearly hadn't been his fault that caused the team's downfall. Which could only mean that . . .

"I'm afraid of being the only one left, the Other Guy can handle most attacks without being harmed, the others aren't as resilient." Bruce murmured, he had come across those thoughts many times, but tried to ignore it. The Other Guy clearly was protective of the team, leading him to believe that he would be able to protect them from major harm if need be. It was one of the many fears he tried to denied, but seeing it now . . .

Facing his fears was actually a good thing, and he hoped the others would see it too.

 _"Your answer to dealing with this fear?"_ One of the man's hands shifted from his shoulder and up into his hair, ruffling the strands in a way that Bruce felt the tension leak out of his shoulders. All that built up aggression and self – hatred melted away, leaving him lax and secure against the warm body behind him. This one was easy to answer, but it would take some time for him to truly let go of this fear.

"I can't help that the Other Guy is more resilient than the others, and if they get injured then it isn't my fault unless I was there and could have easily prevented it. If I can protect them from an attack, then I will. I'll do everything I can to keep them safe." The man's fingers in his hair paused, before patting him lightly on the head.

 _"A sound answer."_

The second vine crumbled away as quickly as the first, the scene fading but Bruce noticed his self in the mirror giving him a grateful smile before vanishing. He hadn't really noticed, but in the first scene he faintly recalled a look of relief on the Other Guy's face. His shoulder's felt even lighter now, breathing was so much more easier than it had been before.

 _"The final fear. You're doing very well."_ The man seemed to be smiling if Bruce read his tone correctly, those ashen grey hands that looked so cold, were as warm as a fiery hearth, banishing the chill that had crept into his bones. He had a feeling this fear would be the worst, seeing as it was the last. The last vine covered at least half of the mirror, only adding to his suspicions. Readying himself for the next vision that would appear, Bruce grasped the vine with both hands, hardly flinching as it curled around his wrists, his skin itching from the contact.

Gazing at the mirror with determined eyes, Bruce was confused to see that it did not depict a scene from an observer's eyes, but from his own.

He watched as Natasha stared at him with wide eyes full of horror. He heard himself choke on his own breath as she turned her back on him, walking away from his side with trembling shoulders, clutching a bloodied and bruised arm. She was afraid of him, of the pain he had caused her by his own hand.

Clint was next, his bow and arrows pulverised into splinters in one large green hand, confusion dancing across his features as he looked at Bruce, before turning on his heel and walking with stumbling steps caused by an utter and bewildering realisation. He was shocked that Bruce had turned against them, the loss of his most trusted weapon throwing his mind into uncertainty.

Thor though, he had the most distraught expression on his face, a large and dark coloured bruise on his cheek, shocked that his shield – brother had raised a hand to him outside of a friendly spar. The Asgardian gave him a look of disbelief, before vanishing into the light of the BiFrost. The blonde god was confused, wondering why one of his most trusted shield – brothers would turn against them.

Steve, he looked at Bruce with caution in his eyes, assessing a threat to him and his team. But his hand clasping the mighty shield shook with uncertainty, as if weighing up if Bruce was still a friend, or now a foe. Bruce could spot a large bruise forming on the exposed skin of Steve's neck and shoulder where the sturdy material of his protective uniform had been ripped away. The Captain was torn between treating him as a friend or viewing him as an enemy, turning away when he could not decide.

And lastly came Tony. The first one of the team to accept him despite the 'green – rage – monster' as he had so eloquently called the Other Guy. But now the genius gazed at him in a daze, as if in disbelief when he saw the sight of the crushed Iron Man suit, gold and red metal shards falling from his radiation filled hands. Bruce could only watch as his closest friend turned his back on him, shoulders slumped and hands buried in his hair as he walked away. The brilliant inventor was distressed at losing one of few people he allowed into his heart (the one that Tony always denied he had, but it was there, the damaged and yet welcoming organ beating away steadily).

But the worst thing of all, was the look of betrayal in their eyes before they vanished from his sight.

As the image faded, Bruce suddenly felt the warm trickle of salty tears running down his cheeks, his chest was tight with emotion.

But the man said nothing, stroking Bruce's hair and simply waiting until he composed himself so he wouldn't break down into an emotional wreck the moment he tried to speak.

Once Bruce felt he could control his tears (the Other Guy gave a sad sort of nudge in the back of his mind), he let out the breath he had been holding in.

 _"Your final fear? What is it?"_

It was very clear to Bruce was this fear was, it was all too easy to see.

But actually acknowledging that fear had been something Bruce hoped to never tell anyone. And yet, here he was, spilling out his darkest fears to a complete stranger who didn't judge him for the beast inside him, and accepted his fears so easily that Bruce was certain the Other Guy had added this man into his small circle of friends.

"I'm afraid, of the team rejecting me. Of being left on my own with no one to turn to or call friend. I'm afraid of hurting those dearest to me." The man gave a satisfied hum, instead of replying with words, the way his shoulders were shaking, Bruce was glad the man said nothing, just simply waited with un – limitless patience for Bruce to settle his violate emotions.

"I, I need to realise, that the team will never reject me. As long as I learn to co – operate with the Other Guy, they'll never abandon me and him. They'll never be hurt because of my mistakes." Once those words passed his lips, Bruce could no longer hold his tears back and let them flow in earnest, his whole body shaking as he let out those pent up emotions. But the man said nothing, humming in agreement and drawing Bruce into a light embrace, letting him cry it all out, all the bottled up years of grief fretting over his fears was being let loose in this very moment.

And Bruce was grateful for it.

There was no one else here who would judge him, for his fears and worries. Just this man who seemed to just understand what Bruce needed at the moment. He didn't need anything else other than someone who accepted he needed to cry, who wouldn't take advantage of his weakness, just a shoulder to cry on.

Eons seemed to pass as he cried, the vine had already crumbled away, he saw the image of his team giving him grateful smiles before vanishing as well, the mirror was vine free and all the grime had gone too, leaving him with just his reflection. His eyes were red and puffy from all the crying, but he could literally see years of worry lifted from his shoulders, he stood up straighter and the bags under his eyes had disappeared like they had never been there in the first place.

The man stood behind him, a soft smile on his face as he saw what Bruce was seeing.

 _"You have passed your trial. Well done, Doctor Banner. Now you know your fears, and you have freed yourself from their choking grasp. And as a reward for passing your trial, I will give you a little advice."_ The man removed his warm hands from Bruce's shoulders, linking them behind his back before leaning down to look at Bruce in the eyes. _"Talk to your other self, the more you understand each other, the better you will co – operate. Both of you will be able to communicate despite which form you are in, which will help with the harder decisions you will have to make."_ The man reached behind Bruce, tapping the mirror with one spindly finger.

Glancing behind him, Bruce could feel his eyes widen as he watched the full – length mirror shrink down to the size of a hand mirror, held in a frame of ivory that curled around the glass protectively. _"If you look at this mirror while you meditate, you will be able to talk to him. It's easier to talk to someone when you can see them, is it not?"_ The man smiled warmly while placing the mirror in Bruce's hands.

Staring down at the mirror, Bruce could see the Other Guy instead of his reflection, and he looked rather pleased at the notion of easier communication as well.

"Thank you." Bruce almost whispered as he glanced back up at the man, who just kept smiling, his golden eyes held no trace of madness now, just simple delight.

 _"It's no problem, considering how it will help to protect others in the future, it is well worth the cost."_ The man strode over towards the door, and Bruce saw how there was no handle but a circular slot at where the handle should be. The parchment in his pocket had warmed, making him pull it out and glance down to it, surprised to see it had curled up into a small scroll, the exact size of the slot in the door.

Looking up to the man for confirmation, he received a small nod. _"When you exit, you will wake and find your team. They will be unconscious, as they are still going through their trials. You were the first to complete yours."_ Nodding, Bruce placed the scroll in the slot, which spun around 180 degrees and the door made a small clicking noise as it unlocked itself. Grasping the edge of the door, Bruce couldn't help but glance back at the man who made no move to exit the room with him.

"Why do I feel my trail was easier than it should have been?" The man blinked, clearly not expecting that Bruce would have noticed it. But he chuckled, folding his hands into his sleeves before those golden eyes looked at him with a fond glow in their amber depths.

 _"I've become rather fond of you, you care about others rather than yourself. Despite how I've treated you as you've wandered through my home, you still asked for my well – being before your trial. But, you are also adaptable to your situation, as well as the people you encounter. So I felt that there was no need to place you through a cruel trial. And you are very perceptive, I do not wish to warp such a brilliant mind."_

Oh, so he had noticed what Bruce had realised. Just as how the lingering emotions of the building had affected them, it also affected this man. This man was, susceptible to human emotions, and if his hunch was correct, along with the few titbit's the man had given him, he knew why their emotions had set him off so badly in the first place.

 _"I will see you after all the trials are completed Doctor Banner. Adieu, for now."_

Nodding, Bruce opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

Strangely enough, he sort of missed the man's embrace. The golden eyed man had smelled of mountain water and mild herbs like rosemary.

A scent that calmed both him, and the Other Guy.

-o0o-

 _A/N: And the first trial is over! I didn't actually intend for the OC to pop into Bruce's trial, but it just felt right when I wrote it. The OC does like Bruce as is explained after the trial, I just feel that Bruce is really acceptive of everyone, unless they're out to kill him, imprison him or experiment on him, you know. So, due to his concern about the OC, his trial was much more milder than what the others are going to get. But of course from the ballads they all received, you can tell it's going to get bad (I am so happy I decided to take English Literature this year, it was very inspiring for the ballads). Well, please let me know if you enjoyed this chapter, I've randomly selected who I am going to do next, but if you really want to see a specific character for the next trial, please let me know and if the OC is feeling generous, I'll see if I can write that trail next._

 _ **Bruce (completed)**_ _  
Steve  
Clint  
Tony  
Natasha  
Thor  
Loki_

 _This is not the order they'll be done in, just writing it up so you guys will know who's trial has been done and who's available for the next trial._

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	9. Update 10052016

Hi guys, I've got a really quick update for you concerning the story.

Currently, life hates me and is dragging me down into the depths of despair. It just hates me in general, I feel at the moment. So, for the moment I will have to place this story to the side for a while. I've written a little bit for the next chapter, but my creativity has come crashing to a halt, I've just been staring at the page and I can imagine the scene in my head, it's just not been being transferred into words. But I still want to continue this story, the OC has become very dear to me and I want to share his story, but my university classes have just been bogging down on me (I sort of regret taking Greek now, languages are not my strongest subject). So I've got to get back to the books and study properly otherwise I'm going to be stuck in a rough spot with trying to plan my courses for next year.

Just wanted to let you know, as I don't want you guys having to wait for a chapter that isn't going to be coming for a while.

To all my followers, reviewers, the people who have favourited or even just viewed my story, thank you for making my day so much brighter every time I see a notification in my emails, you make the burden of life so much easier to carry.

I feel terrible about not being able to upload a chapter, and I apologise for making you wait so long for a chapter that has not even been completed yet.

Hopefully I'll get my motivation back again once life stops being horrible to me.

With that said . . .

LiulfrLokison out! :3


	10. Chp 7: Watching The Puppets Dance

_Well, I'm finally back! It's been like over a month since I updated, and I am truly sorry about that. I've currently got an essay to write that's next Friday, so I'm just warning you guys so that you now the next chapter may be slow to update. I got a huge boost of motivation from_ _ **Nyaed**_ _whose story_ _ **"Satisfaction"**_ is a wonderful read for all you Frostiron fans (seriously, I've had a blast reading it, it makes me want to just shriek with utter joy, and god damn, Loki and Tony are just irresistibly _adorable in their own sassy way). Also, thank you_ **** _and_ ** _Majestic - Pegacorn_** _for following this story, I'm seriously surprised I've gotten these much followers so my first proper story on this site. Currently, this story has had_ _ **843**_ _views, and I'm just blown away from the amount of people who took the time to actually click on my story and take a gander._

 _OC: Yes, yes, we get that you're all emotional and happy right now, but I do think this note has gone a little too long.  
LiulfrLokison: Fine, we'll get to you. You just love feeding them little snippets about yourself, don't you?  
OC: Of course, it doesn't feel right to just dump a whole ton on them, I rather spoon feed a few little juicy bits before dropping the bombshell. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story besides -  
OC: ME! Although I would say I contributed to most of my backstory, you are just my vessel to reveal my existence to the world.  
LiulfrLokison: . . . Yeah, he's a bit hyped up for this chapter. Well, as I was saying, I don't own any character besides him, the rest belong to MARVEL (those marvelous people). Otherwise I seriously would have placed Loki on the Avengers, cause Tony (being the smart little cookie he is) would have realised, for a God of Lies and Mischief, Loki wasn't really putting his all into the fight. _

_And here, is the chapter!_

 ** _Chapter 7: Watching The Puppets Dance_**

-o0o-

The room beyond was pitch black, except for a small light that flickered over a tall object which was covered with a dark coloured cloth, sitting innocently at the opposite side of the room.

Approaching the object with cautious steps, Clint hesitantly grasped the material and after deliberating if it was a good idea or not, gave it a tug.

The sheet fell away, running over his hand like water over pebbles, the smooth silk almost caressing his fingertips. But the soft caress soon became a cold embrace when his eyes fells upon the object, a chill running down his spine at the sight before him.

It was a slim, tall ornate mirror, bordered with thin metal bars that curled around the framed glass like the hands of a skeleton, a pattern of scraggly tree branches,

In some weird way that defied the laws of physics, the mirror stayed upright, the thin metal looked ready to snap in two from the slightest touch, and black mist seeped out from behind the sheet of glass, filling the room with the scent of wet dirt and rotting bones.

Wrinkling his noise at the scent, Clint peered at the mirror in confusion, wondering how it was supposed to relate to his trial. And as he leaned closer towards the glass, he faintly heard the sound of rustling cloth, spinning around to find the tall golden eyed man standing behind him, pale lips curling into an eerie grin that caused warning bells to go off in his mind.

 _"_ _Good, your hearing aids are working perfectly, I was afraid the spell hadn't set properly."_ At those words, Clint's hands flew up to touch his hearing aids, only now noting how his fingers seemed to tingle when he touched the plastic. "What, did you do?" Clint murmured with a frown, trying to think if there was a difference between the sounds he heard now compared to before the man had tinkered with them. _"You were able to hear me approaching, normally you wouldn't be able to but I've placed a little enhancing spell on your hearing aids, it allows you to hear the slightest of sounds."_

Normally that would have sounded like a huge favour, but judging from the way the man's amber eyes glittered with absolute insanity, it did not bode well for Clint.

 _"_ _Your trial awaits. May fortune be with you."_ The man murmured, a pleasant smile on his lips as he towered over Clint.

"But, how am I supposed to start my trial? There's nothing here except a mirror." Clint couldn't help but remark, and soon came to regret it.

That pleasant smile widened into a toothy grin, madness dancing in the man's eyes as he withdrew his hands from his robe sleeves, reaching out with those spider – like fingers to rest on Clint's chest.

Staring down at the ashen appendages splayed across his torso, Clint felt a sense of dread flood through his veins.

 _"_ _Like this."_

With a simple nudge of his fingers, the man drove Clint back against the mirror, the cold glass biting into his skin. But to his horror, his back didn't collide with the solid form of the mirror, but sank through it as if it was slime, oozing over his limbs and pulling him in like quicksand. The thin metal bands that curled around the mirror's frame slithered forward like serpents, wrapping around his wrists and ankles as he felt the back of his head sinking into the glass.

 _"_ _Do not break the metal that holds you, without it, you will be lost forever and cannot return to the mortal world. And whatever you do, you cannot interfere with what you will see. No matter how much it pains you."_

The man withdrew his fingers from Clint's chest, a solemn expression on his face as the glass swallowed the archer in. And before his ears were pulled into the mirror, he heard the man whisper five words that made his heart stop cold.

 _"_ _For anguish awaits you there."_

The man's grave golden eyes were the last thing he saw before the mirror consumed him.

-o0o-

The first thing Clint saw when he came to was a grand ceiling above him, one that wouldn't be out of place in an old cathedral or opera house. Plush carpet was under his body, thick red strands making him lean to more of an opera house type of building. Getting to his feet, he found the thin strands of metal wrapped around his wrists and ankles, tight enough to remind him they were there but not tight enough to cut off his circulation. The metal was cold as ice, biting into his skin as if they were the bony hands of the dead.

But as he surveyed his surroundings, he found an exact replica of the mirror behind him, embedded into the wall. It somehow, in some weird and bizarre fashion, seemed to fit in with the opera house decor despite the skeleton like patterns the pale grey metal created. He was standing in a hallway that seemed to connect from the foyer, to the upper floor of the opera house. Seeing as the doors to the foyer where bolted shut with heavy metal bars, his only option was to go up.

And as he made his way up the thickly carpeted stairs, he could hear the sounds of a battle ensuing in the room beyond.

Reaching the door that lead to the balcony seats, Clint found himself hesitating as his fingers curled around the ornate handle, unsure if he wanted to see what lay beyond the doors.

The man's parting words rang loudly in his mind, was he truly prepared for what he was about to see?

Taking a deep breath, Clint readied himself and threw the door open.

The moment his eyes fell upon the vast stage, lit up in bright lights, he never knew his heart could hurt this much. It beat rapidly in his chest, feeling as if someone had viciously burrowed their clawed fingers into his chest and was slowly dragging it out, squeezing the organ tight enough that he felt like it would burst under the pressure.

Stumbling forward, Clint grasped a marble railing as his legs gave out under him, clutching a hand over his heart as his eyes followed the horrifying scene in front of him.

On the stage, his team mates were fighting.

Except they were fighting each other, faces cold and blank without emotion, eyes glazed as the blood of his friends spilt on the floor.

But what made Clint's heart hurt the most was their shadows, the outline of strings were attached to their bodies, directing how they moved and fought the others. High above the stage, a large figure cloaked in a hooded black cloak held the puppet strings in their hands, cackling softly as blood coated the floor in crimson pools, and Clint could tell there was a smirk hiding behind that white mask.

He could do nothing but watch as Tony plunged a knife into Natasha's back, yanking it out so brutally that blood smeared his face, but Natasha spun around a second later without her usual grace, and fired a bullet into Tony's stomach. The inventor staggered back, blood almost gushing from the wound but he moved forward with jerky movements, raising the knife as Natasha fired another three bullets. Only two found their mark, her arms were twitching so much that her aim was completely off, leaving Tony with a bullet in his left thigh and right shoulder. Despite the injuries, he kept going, stabbing the knife deep into Natasha's side, a black liquid oozing from the corner of his mouth as he twisted the blade, Clint could hear the knife scraping against bone, and tasted bile in the back of his mouth.

Natasha held the gun against Tony's head, firing off a shot point blank. Clint choked as he watched Tony fall, his body shaking as if he was having a seizure as he lay in a pool of his own blood. Natasha fell to her knees and her side was painted red, collapsing into a heap next to Tony, staring up at the puppeteer with wide dead eyes.

Both Thor and Steve were fighting Bruce, whose skin was tinted green but never changed into the Hulk. Steve's shield slamming into the gamma specialist's back made Bruce stumble forward right into the path of Mjolnir, sending the smallest of their team flying as the hammer collided with his face, the loud crack was all Clint needed to hear, confirming that his neck had been broken.

The archer was barely aware of the tears falling down his face, silently watching as Mjolnir rammed into Steve's chest, the sound of ribs breaking under the force and bones piercing organs was enough for Clint to tell that Steve was dead. The vibranium shield that Steve had thrown slammed into Thor's neck, the razor sharp metal slicing into the Asgardian's thick skin, leaving a deep gash that poured blood all over the silver armour.

Thor was the last to fall, a dull thud that seemed like crashing bells to Clint's ears.

The puppeteer cackled madly, pulling at the strings in its hands with bone thin fingers, the bodies of his team mates stood back up, covered in blood and bruises, and began to attack each other again.

He didn't know how long he stayed there, slumped on his knees and tears dripping down his cheeks, unable to pull his eyes away from the bloody scene. It was only the biting cold of the metal that reminded him what he was seeing wasn't true.

 _"_ _I think you've had enough."_

Clint almost slammed his forehead against the railings, finally able to tear his eyes away from the stage to find the ashen man staring down at him with solemn golden eyes.

"What, in the name of all that's holy, was that?!" Clint screamed, pointing to the stage which as completely coated in blood, but the bodies of his team mates had disappeared. The man glanced to the stage, before looking back down to Clint.

 _"_ _That, was your fear. Although it was rather gruesome I suppose."_ The man crouched down onto his knees, placing one of his spindly hands onto Clint's shoulder, the appendage was surprisingly warm despite looking so cold. Clint found himself leaning into the contact, his heart still pounded painfully in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

 _"_ _What have you learned from what you've seen?"_ The man's voice was soft and calming, like a father trying to comfort his child. He didn't sound hurried or demanding, easing the pain in Clint's chest as he tried to ignore the fear and horror that had ensnared his mind. What had he learned from this experience?

"I . . ." Clint paused, wetting his lips as he tried to think, looking down at the floor, he was able to analyse others, but when it came to himself, he was blind.

However, his thought process was brought to a halt when he heard the man wince, glancing up to see the grey skinned man holding his other hand to the back of his head, as if he had been hit. He wore an expression of pain on his face, the hand on Clint's shoulder tensed and he could feel the sharp points of the man's nails nearly digging into his flesh, flinching slightly.

The man seemed to notice this, hastily pulling his hand away from Clint to join the other, clutching his head as if he had a migraine. He was muttering something angrily, in a language Clint was not familiar with but could definitely tell they were curse words.

"Are, are you okay?" Clint found himself asking, almost reaching out to the man but halted as burning golden eyes fell upon him, almost like the spitting fires of Hell itself. He felt as if he was looking into the eyes of an ancient dragon, and could do nothing but cower underneath its gaze.

It took a few minutes, both just staring at each other until the sound of a wall crumbling broke them out of their stupor. This seemed to panic the man, his hand reaching out and grasping Clint's arm tightly, dragging the stunned archer to the doors. _"Quickly, I cannot hold this place together much longer!"_ The man sounded genuinely panicked, throwing the doors open and almost flying down the stairs, Clint could do nothing but follow, bewildered and confused but knew when to follow orders.

 _"_ _We will talk on the other side, go quickly!"_ The mirror was right in front of him, the metal frame peeling away and dragging him in, making his whole body shiver as he was emerged into the cold embrace of the molten glass yet again.

Yet, he couldn't help but feel worried for the ashen man, wondering what had caused such a violent change in behaviour.

-o0o-

The moment Clint fell out of the mirror, he was gasping for breath. The pain in his chest had gone, and his head felt strangely clearer than before.

Picking himself off the floor, he felt the metal around his wrists and ankles crumble away, leaving thin scars that looked like he had wrapped barbed wire around it that had dug into his skin. Staring at the marks in slight shock, he almost missed it when the ashen skinned man burst into existence, emerging from a cloud of black mist and stumbled slightly as he ran a hand through his ruffled hair. Exhaustion was plain to see on his face, those golden eyes had dulled to pale amber, making the man look sickly when combined with his grey skin tone.

 _"_ _I, apologise for the rough handling. And the scars. The trails are never meant to leave physical marks."_ The man's voice was hoarse, as if he had been yelling at the top of his lungs for a good couple of minutes. "What, happened? If I may ask?" Right now, it seemed like it was a good time to not get this guy angry, Clint knew when he had to use tact instead of sarcasm.

 _"_ _Your comrade, the Odinson, did not appreciate his trial, and took his anger out on the surroundings. There is a limit to how much I can do at the moment, considering the restrictions I've been placed under."_ The man paused, as if he hadn't meant to give that much information in the first place.

Restrictions? This guy was powerful enough to delve into their minds, pull out their fears, expose it to them and he had a limiter on him? Clint found it all mindboggling, who exactly was this man?

 _"_ _That is quite enough about me, let us focus on you."_ The man set those amber eyes on him, anger sparking in his eyes but that was fading fast, leaving the man's eyes frightfully blank, much like the eyes of his dead team mates.

"That, was my fear. The fear that they'll have their minds controlled like mine was." Clint tried to not remember the gruesome scene, but he had to in order to pass this trial. _"There are many sorcerer's in the Nine Realms that can easily ensnare a weak mind, but if one knows how to combat it, then it only becomes a problem for those who are much more gifted in the arts of twisting one's mind."_ The man said this with a hint of rage and self – loathing in his tone, crossing his arms over his chest and one spindly finger tapped his forearm with a random beat.

 _"_ _So, how do you intend to fight this fear of yours?"_ The man asked, his finger stopped tapping almost immediately, a patient expression on his face as Clint tried to think of the best way he would be able to face his fear, now and in the future. The answer seemed all too simple in his mind, surely the man would expect a detailed answer that was guaranteed to work?

 _"_ _Sometimes fears can be dealt with the most simplest of answers."_

Jolting, Clint glanced up from where his eyes had fallen to the grime coated floor, looking up at the man in disbelief. That ashen face wore a bemused smile, pale amber eyes had returned to a rich gold, glinting with mirth.

That was all he needed to know.

Swallowing loudly, Clint gave his answer.

"I just have to keep a better eye on my team mates if we fight against opponents who use magic. And if someone tries to control them, I'll be there to stop them from hurting anyone."

Silence fell upon the two, Clint's palms became rather sweaty as the man stared at him with blank eyes, processing the answer.

An eternity seemed to pass, the archer waiting for a response and the ancient staring back at him, if someone was to drop a pin it would seem like thunder to the two.

A grin rose onto those grey lips, razor sharp teeth scraping against each other, sounding like two stones being struck together to Clint's ears.

 _"_ _Correct. You are mortal, and there is only so much you can do. But as long as you remain as their watchful eyes, you can prevent such events from occurring."_ The man strode forward, placing a hand on the mirror and the glass remained as solid as marble. At his touch, the metal began to warp and bend, melting into a lump of grey into the man's palm.

The glass had shrunk down into two pieces, the size of a glasses lens, and Clint was completely perplexed at what had just occurred in front of him. But his attention was seized again as the ashen man strode over to him, the metal lump began to leak through his fingers and latched onto the glass, moulding around the piece until it formed into the shape of something similar to aviator goggles, except more sleek and less bulky in its design, as well as looking a bit more high tech.

 _"_ _This, is my reward for you passing your trail."_ The man slipped the goggles over his head, letting Clint place it over his eyes. They seemed like normal goggles, but as Clint peered through them, he was surprised to see a gold and black outline pulsing around the man's shape, making him feel a little disorientated.

Tugging the goggles off and letting them dangle around his neck, he glanced up to the man while trying to settle his roiling stomach. "What does this do, exactly?" The man chuckled, tapping the glass lens lightly before stepping back while wearing a smug grin on his face.

 _"_ _These goggles sharpen your eyesight, but their most important feature is that they allow you to see who has magic or not, you can see their auras. The larger the aura, the more magic they have. I believe Loki will be able to explain what colours mean what kind of spell, but I will tell you that if the colour is a dark blue with a vibrant yellow mixed into it, those are mind control spells. That, is the kind of colour you must look out for. However, if someone is being controlled, the colour of their aura will be that dark blue and yellow, but will have black flecks. If you are able to hit the nerve point where most of the black has settled, it should temporarily release them of the spell until it can be removed, as that nerve point is where the spell was cast on."_

Clint blinked, looking down at the glasses, and back up to the man who hummed a light tune under his breath as he practically glided over to the door. This man had just given him a way to protect his team mates, as well as release them from mind spells.

Who, exactly was this man and why was he stuck here in this asylum? Who would have enough power to tie him to this place?

"Thank you. This, is something that I can never repay you for."

The words of gratitude slipped from his mouth, as Clint grasped the goggles in one hand, yet again he found himself close to tears, this gift, would be something he would cherish and use to protect those he cared about.

 _"_ _There is no need for thanks, you have faced your inner most fears, and as such, you deserve a suitable reward. It was you who made the effort, not I."_ The man smiled, standing by the door with one thin finger pointed at the keyhole.

The parchment (that he had all but forgotten about) burned in his hand, causing him to yelp at the heat and opened his hand, confused to see the parchment wasn't crushed but had rolled up into a small scroll, the perfect size for the keyhole under the rust coloured handle. _"Doctor Banner is currently the only one who has completed his trail so far, you will find him beyond this door. You will most likely have to wait a while for your other companions, they, are having a little difficulty with theirs."_

The words sent chills down his spine, he definitely knew Natasha had a lot of baggage, Tony certainly did, but Steve and Thor, he wasn't too sure about. He could only guess Thor's trail had something to do with events that occurred on Asgard, but the Captain's fear was something he could only make fruitless assumptions about.

"Will you be there for them, like you were with me?" This man didn't seem cruel enough to let him face that trial alone, so he hoped the others were getting the same treatment. The man blinked a few times, surprise on his face which morphed into a wry smile.

 _"_ _You already trust me that much? Well, I cannot lie about that, it is easier to face ones fears with another than facing them alone. I will be there for them, have no fear."_

As Clint slotted the parchment into the door, he could faintly smell the scent of a warm hearth and home baked apple pie as he passed the man, a smell that made him think of home, safety, and affection.

The door swung open and he took a breath of fresh air, stepping out into the light, and oddly enough, he found himself missing the soothing tone of the man's voice.

-o0o-

 _A/N: We have reached the end of Clint's chapter, and man, I felt really terrible putting him through that, but at least he got a good reward out of it! I felt like the OC should be with them through the trails, so I've decided to continue it through the other trials, I want to show different sides to the OC because I'm not making him the outright villain, he's just, a little misunderstood. My chest was actually hurting as I wrote Clint's trial, his is shorter than the others, I felt like I'd just leave the imagery to your imagination. I'm going to try and make the other's trails longer, I think I'll have more information to go off for them._

 _But right, the list. XD_

 _ **Bruce (completed)**_ _  
Steve  
_ _ **Clint (completed)**_ _  
Tony  
Natasha  
Thor  
Loki_

 _Once again, sorry about the long delay, and I will be starting on the next chapter later as I've got to get my train home and need to walk down a huge ass hill to get to the station. Please tell me what you thought about the chapter, and if there's any advice you can give me, I would be eternally grateful for it!_

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	11. Cp8:WhatIsAKingWithoutAnySubjects Part1

_Hi guys! I am so sorry that this chapter took so long to update. I had exams and this chapter was giving me a lot of trouble since I am so much more used to writing this certain character in a more happy go lucky way (most likely you will know who it is by the chapter title). The OC was not also co - operating as he was also pissed of at this character for . . . obvious reasons in the previous chapter._

 _I feel like I've left you guys in the dark long enough, so here's what there is of this chapter so far (I am so ashamed of how small it is compared to previous chapters). I will try to continue writing the rest of the chapter but the OC has drained all my energy for tonight._

 _OC: And I am sorry, but you try dealing with this guy and not tear your hair out!  
LiulfrLokison: But he's so . . . him! I'm having even more trouble trying to channel you!  
OC: Just, finish this note please. I need a nap.  
Liulfr: Fine, fine. (Quick mention, thanks __**universalshippingdock**_ _for following this story! And to_ _ **SlytherinORGriffondor**_ _for favoriting too!)_

 _OC: LiulfrLokison does not own any character in this story that you recognize. And she does not own me because I am awesome and glorious. She is just my channel to you mortals._

 _So, here's the chapter so far!_

 ** _Chapter 8:_** ** _What Is A King Without Any Subjects? (Part 1)_**

-o0o-

The room beyond been entirely pitch black when Thor entered, but the moment the door slammed shut behind him, the sound roaring in his ears like the pounding of a war drum, light flooded the room.

Blinking in the sudden brightness, he found himself staring at a mirror that would not be amiss in the halls of Asgard, almost a complete replica of the golden framed glass that adorned the wall of his chambers. It stood there innocently in the light, almost beckoning him forward like a siren's call to a sailor's ears.

However, there was something odd about the familiar sight, his battle honed instincts tingled in warning in the back of his mind, this was no mere ornamental mirror.

As Thor crossed the room, grasping Mjolnir tightly in his hand, he was sure that he could see shadowy creatures with bright stars for eyes, moving just out of his line of vision. By the time he had reached the mirror, those creatures weren't just merely watching him, he could hear their low whispers, soft laughter and hushed mocking tones.

The voices grew louder and louder, the shadows began to move closer and closer, swallowing in the light as they converged on him.

Taking a step back, Thor was surprised to feel cool glass beneath his hand. It seemed his body had moved back towards the mirror without his knowledge, but the shadowed creatures were almost upon him, groaning and whining, taunting and hissing, shrieking in lament.

As they emerged into the light, Thor almost recoiled in horror at the sight before him, his stomach churning and his heart pounding in absolute terror.

The shadowed creatures were not in fact beasts, but Asgardian's, their golden armour tainted black and black ooze dripping from their pores. Their eyes were sunken hollows, starlight shining with an eerie glow that made his very bones shake.

Dread gripped his body like the icy hands of death, leaving him frozen and unable to utter a sound as the subjects of Asgard limped forward, wide smiles stretching the pale dead skin on their face, exposing their rotting teeth, gnarled hands reaching out and grasping at air.

The moment a hand grabbed a fistful of his royal red cape, Thor found his voice. Bellowing in alarm, he sprung back, only to fall through the mirror and into darkness, his cape ripped from his shoulders and held up triumphantly like a spoil of war. The last time his cape had been taken was when his father banished him, and that was not a memory he was fond of.

Mjolnir was in his hand in an instance, lightning curling around his mighty weapon, fizzling and sparking in response to his rage.

Anger clouded his judgement, stormy blue eyes focused on the red cloth held aloft by grey flesh, fluttering in an invisible breeze.

Raising Mjolnir high above his head, Thor let out a bellow as he struck at the mirror, ears waiting for the sound of smashing glass.

And yet, it never came.

For a hand cold like death grasped at his face, grey flesh covering his eyes and forcing him away from the mirror. He stumbled and fell to the ground, Mjolnir tumbling from his hand, the mighty weapon forged from a dying star wailed in both protest and sorrow at the action.

The lightning that he had summoned crackled and spat, lighting up the darkened room and tearing at the walls. He saw brief flashes of the room, and soon wished he had not looked in the first place.

He saw the golden halls of Asgard, charred corpses littered the ground and everything reeked of burnt flesh. Pillars lay in pieces across the once shining halls. Chunks were carelessly tossed aside like a child's toy, crushing those who had not been roasted alive, blood seeping from under the rubble and creating a river of red.

And yet the grey skinned man made no move, towering over him with a glower on his face, and a snarl on his lips.

"What is this? What manner of sorcery have you cast?" Thor barely heard himself speak, his horror feeding the lightning that struck the ground so forcefully that it blasted a crater into the golden marble.

Instead of answering, the golden eyed man only seemed to grow more agitated, his jagged teeth grinding against each other like nails on a chalkboard, echoing in the vast hall.

"What, have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

The man's voice rose in volume, Thor clapped his hands over his ears but still heard the man's shrieking, he could only compare it to the cries of harpies.

Mjolnir made a pitiful sound before all the lightning died down, once again causing the room to fall into darkness yet again. Except this time Thor now knew what the darkness had to hide.

The only source of light was the man's golden irises, narrowed with rage and glowing like the embers of a great bonfire.

The God of Thunder and Storms knew he had done something wrong.

Very.

Very.

Wrong.

-o0o-

 _A/N: Yeah . . . . so this is what I have so far and I will be working on the rest of it, but it looks like it's going to be a long one as I have two assignments I'm working on at the moment. So I hope I haven't strung you guys up too much for the completed chapter, so criticism is gratefully accepted!_

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	12. Chp9:WhatIsAKingWithoutAnySubjects Part2

_Hi guys, man it's been ages since I updated this one. Well, I finally finished Thor's trail and it's going to be some time before I can tackle the next one. The OC isn't really in a mood to talk today, so it's a short author note._

 _Disclaimer: I don't own any character besides the OC, cause Marvel is too big a company for me to handle._

 _Here's the second part of Thor's trail!_

 _-o0o-_

 ** _Chapter 9:_** ** _What Is A King Without Any Subjects? (Part 2)_**

-o0o-

Thor could do nothing but stare up at the man, he felt like those golden eyes were digging under his flesh and tearing his very soul from his body.

He didn't know how long he stood there like a statue, the very air was alive with the man's fury. If he moved, he felt as if the fires of Muspelheim would rise up and swallow him whole.

The man let out a heavy sigh, dragging his fingers down his face before snapping his fingers. The black mist that seeped from underneath his robe sprang up to form a simple chair, tall and stiff backed. The golden eyed figure sunk into the chair as if it was the most elegant of thrones, smoothly crossing his legs and propping himself up with an elbow on the chair arm, tapping a finger against his cheek as he focused a smouldering glare on the Asgardian prince.

 _"_ _You certainly are bull headed for a prince, has anyone told you that?"_

Now Thor was very confused, the man's exasperated tone of voice was a stark contrast to the glower on his face. It was like he had simply given up with his attempts to reason with Thor, seeming to choose a different route to get his point across.

"I – "

Thor faltered, the only person who had ever dared to say such words to him was Loki (although his brother used much different words than this man's blunt approach).

 _"_ _It seems not. Being royalty certainly has its perks."_ The man mumbled, his fingers curling into a fist and Thor winced as the man's knuckles cracked loudly, it was like hearing bones being shattered. Another earth shaking sigh fell past the man's ashen lips, and he snapped his fingers once more.

Thor wasn't expecting to find himself suddenly sitting in a chair, Mjolnir propped up next to his knees, directly across from the golden eyed man.

 _"_ _Actions do not seem to make a lesson stick for you, talking seems to be a more beneficial approach. You will sit and be silent. You will answer when questioned. Am I clear?"_ Finding he had no other option, Thor nodded before getting himself comfortable.

It seemed like this would be a long talk.

-o0o-

 _"_ _I've seen many mortals who think they're faultless, that they are perfect and that everyone should follow their lead because they are right and everyone else is wrong. Either they've been privileged or have a title that makes people not question their decisions. Rarely do I encounter someone who actually doesn't fall under these two categories. Unfortunately, you've been both privileged and have that fancy title that's enabled your head to be swollen."_

The Asgardian was completely silent, although his clenched fists said otherwise.

 _"_ _But, fortunately for you, your brother was there to pull you out of the fire. Many, many times. You've had an anchor, leading you away from rash decisions. If I ever meet Lady Sif and the Warriors Three though, may the gods have mercy on them."_ He ground his teeth as he spoke, those four had been a great factor to Thor's foolish decisions, encouraging many idiotic quests that had put them in grave danger. And that were just the few things he had heard about, not counting everything else that few were privy to.

 _"_ _Have you ever questioned your people's faith in you?"_

Judging from the wince Thor made, he supposed the Asgardian had never thought about that.

 _"_ _Have you ever questioned yourself?"_

At this, Thor fidgeted in his seat, mulling over his thoughts before nodding.

"There, have been times were I questioned my own judgement, although my friends and subjects justified it, and I would leave it at that."

Good, Thor did know when to question himself sometimes, but due to his title and the bigoted ways of the Asgardian's, he hadn't questioned himself further. Everything boiled down to how stupid and prejudiced ways of the Asgardian's.

That was something he would have to sort out in the future once he got out.

 _"_ _When you go into a fight, do you ever think about the consequences of your actions?"_

The blonde Asgardian was silent for a few minutes, letting out a deep breath before speaking.

"Until recently, I did not. It took me some time to understand my actions on Jotunheim were rash and foolish, during my time in exile. Although, it was during the time when I mourned the loss of my brother, did that lesson sink in. My team have shown me how rash my actions can be, I still have much to learn."

Hearing those words from the Thunderer's mouth set his mind at ease. Thor could own up to his mistakes and his team was helping him out in that regard.

It seemed that the Asgardian wasn't a lost cause after all.

(Although the whining from Mjolnir was starting to get on his nerves).

-o0o-

Thor wasn't sure if the thoughtful expression on the grey – skinned man's face was a good or a bad thing. Either way, it was an indicator that the amber eyed man was not done with him yet.

Fidgeting in his seat (which was surprisingly comfortable for a thing made out of black smoke), he could almost see how Mjolnir was straining to get the man's attention, letting out pitiful whines like a kicked puppy (Clint may or may not have gotten Thor hooked on puppy and kitten videos in the downtime between villain attacks). Seeing how Mjolnir, his mighty weapon that could only be wielded by those who were truly worthy, was acting like a puppy that was being lectured by its owner . . .

It made him very curious about this man who had caused his brother such grievous injuries but still had Mjolnir's undivided interest.

Who was this man, and why was he here?

A man of his power surely wouldn't want to live out their lifetime in this . . .

Hovel.

(That was the kindest word he could think of at the moment).

Unless there was a reason of earth – shattering proportions, he could simply not understand why this man was here.

 _"_ _There's a reason why I stopped you from smashing that mirror earlier. It's a doorway, between your mind and your body. If you broke it, there would be no way back. You would never wake up to see the light of day again."_

His blood ran cold, looking at the golden eyed man who was staring at Mjolnir with narrowed eyes, and at Thor's choked gasp for air, those eyes flickering up to take in his pale expression and trembling limbs.

 _"_ _That, is why you need to think before you act, despite how angry you may be. Your actions haven't just affected you though, your shield brother, the archer. Due to your rage, he now has permanent scars. And every time you see them, you will remember of this day."_

Shame flooded his thoughts, Thor had caused harm to his shield brother? He would have to apologise profusely to Clint, he did not wish to harm those he had come to know as family.

 _"_ _I hope that this has served as a lesson to you, Thor the Thunderer. Do not give me a cause to strike you down, and I do believe we may, get along."_ The man voice was lighter than before, it seemed his ire had been soothed by the expression of pain of Thor's face.

The man rose to his feet, the chair swiftly becoming smoke again and creeping back into the man's robe. Thor was given a split second before his chair did the same, a soft hissing noise coming from the smoke as it slithered back to its master. He could spy the mirror behind the ashen skinned man, the rotting dead had vanished and the doorway lay beyond it.

Mjolnir practically leapt past him, disappearing through the mirror and leaving ripples along its surface. _"This way Asgardian, it is time to leave."_ Thor clumsily got to his feet from where he had fallen onto the floor, walking forward with a sense of urgency, wishing to see his shield brother to apologise for the harm he had caused.

Passing through the mirror was like plunging into an ice cold lake, his skin shivering as he emerged from the glass and back into the room. His red cape was nowhere to be seen, Thor had a feeling he would never see it again (a gift from his father on his name day) and for some odd reason, he did not feel any sadness at losing it.

In fact, he felt lighter. Like a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

Turning back, he found the grey – skinned man stepping out of the mirror, one hand still beyond the mirror. As the strange man pulled his arm out, the glass warped around it and collapsed onto itself, a rich red cloth emerged into existence. The whole mirror and frame eventually followed, leaving a long thick cloak in the man's fingers.

Thor barely flinched when the cloak was draped around his shoulders, too in awe of how Mjolnir sung at the man's magic. He found himself mesmerized at the power that he had just witnessed, the beauty and elegance of the man's magic, he was reminded of his lessons as a child, ones that he dismissed in order to focus on his training.

Every individual had an aptitude for magic throughout the Nine Realms, and to those who honed their skills, gave their magic a life of its own. Thor had neglected his magic in favour of strength, but he had enough to see the flow of magic and taste it in the air. Loki's was a vibrant green of the forests, with a smell of mint and a tang of spice, and the thrill of adrenaline.

But this man before him, his magic was . . .

Indescribable.

It felt deep as the oceans, vast as the skies, silent as space, and as old as time.

He could feel the very forces of nature bending to this strangers will, wishing to cater to this stranger's every whim. It was as if he was in the presence of a legend, one that had been lost through the passing of time.

The stranger's magic clung to the folds of his robes, a warm embrace and Thor could hear the heartbeat of this man's magic, like a separate entity that had devoted itself to one and only one person.

And now he felt that very same heartbeat, the same presence wrapping around him in a warm, forgiving embrace.

Pressing a hand to the red cloak the man had presented him with, Thor felt his very blood sing at the magic imbued in the thick cloth.

He could smell the bark of ancient trees, he could taste water from the highest mountain on his tongue, he could hear the song of the Valkyries in his ears and he could feel the heartbeat of dragons against his skin.

 _"_ _This shall be your reward for passing this trail. It is made from an ancient dragon's hide, bathed in the waters from the Well of Urd, and blessed with the magic of the highest elves. It will shield you from all attacks, be they physical or magical. Use it to protect your shield brothers and sister, so that your actions will not harm them ever again."_

Thor couldn't help but let his jaw drop in astonishment.

 **This cloak was bathed in the great well that nourishes the Yggdrasil tree?!**

The man let out an amused chuckle at Thor's speechlessness, smoothing out the cloak and fastening it to his armour.

 _"_ _I have no one to protect, it is wasted on me. But you, you wish to protect those who are dearest to your heart. May it serve you well."_

Thor caught the man's hands before he withdrew, astounded at how warm the dead – looking appendages were. The man seemed startled that Thor wished to touch him, his hands lax in Thor's grip.

"I, I wish to thank you. You have, shown me the errors that my brother could not. And you have gifted me with this, so that I may keep my comrades safe. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

The man's wary expression fell, and a smile appeared on his face.

 _"_ _Then I will accept your thanks. But come now, your comrades await you._

The parchment that contained the ballad burned in his hand, Thor had completely forgotten about it but opened it to see the parchment was rolled up into a small scroll, and as he looked at the door, Thor could tell it was a perfect fit for the keyhole.

 _"_ _Doctor Banner and the archer are awake, they have both completed their trails. You will find them beyond this door. Your other comrades had yet to complete theirs, they have much more to go through than you did."_

It was to be expected.

Thor knew that the Captain was still at odds with himself, trying to fit into a world that he did not grow up in. Thor knew that well, at times he found him confused at Midgardian terms and creations. The Man of Iron had many troubles as well, Thor often found his shield brother awake in the dead of night, and to ease his comrades mind from his night terrors, Thor found himself retelling stories of his adventures throughout the Nine Realms, feeding Tony's inquisitive mind in any way he could in order to distract his scarred team mate from the figures that haunted his memories. The Lady Widow, had many memories that kept her cautious and alert at all times, despite his boisterous nature, Thor was observant enough to see Natasha had never fully let herself relax amongst them.

"Then I will leave them in your capable hands." If this man was able to make even him see the errors of his ways, then Thor was sure he would be able to help his comrades face their fears and conquer them no matter what they may be.

The golden – eyed man gave a small nod at this, those golden irises glimmering with an emotion that Thor could not identify.

 _"_ _I shall, and I will make sure that they return to you unharmed."_

As Thor passed the man to place the parchment into the door, he could smell the threads of his mother's sewing room and the perfume of flowers that she often wore when he was a child, a smell that made him long for his mother's embrace, a safe haven where no harm could befall him.

The door swung open and he was greeted with fresh air, and as he stepped out, he found himself missing the steady drumbeat of the man's magic.

-o0o-

When the Thunderer left, he couldn't help but let out a wistful sigh.

 _"_ _He reminds me of you. You two are so alike, I wish that you were still here despite how much of a pain in the neck you were."_

A tear rolled down his cheek, and he couldn't find the strength to wipe it away.

 _"_ _Maybe, it is you, is that where you went? Were you granted with the breath of life again?"_

Even if Thor really was him, he would never see the same person again.

He thought he had left that life behind, but it seemed, that he had never let it go in the first place.

-o0o-

 _A/N: I WAS IN ABSOLUTE TEARS WRITING THE LAST BIT! TT-TT_

 _Well, it's going to be some time before I can write the next trail, because I've got an essay draft due soon, so I need to tackle that. But, I'm finally using my tumblr now, so if you want to drop by to see if I posted updates, (because that's what I'm going to use it for now instead of giving you false hope with a new chapter that's actually just an update)._

 _It's_ _mojishinprocastinatorextreme dot tumblr dot com_

 _So feel free to drop by and leave me a message or an ask if you want!_

 _LiulfrLokison out! :3_


	13. Temporary Hiatus Due To Real Life Scare

Um, hi guys. If you haven't heard, New Zealand was struck by a massive **7.5** earthquake in the South Island at 12:02AM on the 14th of November.

I live about a half an hour drive out of Wellington on the Kapiti Coast, and I was still awake and on my computer at the time, so when the house started to creak and shake, I was freaking the f*** out and was internally screaming, but moved to my doorway and it was soon over after that. My parents and siblings were okay (had to call my sister up who had moved recently, but she was safe). Nothing in our house was broken besides a pot that fell down the stairs and left dirt everywhere . . .

So its understandable that I'm shaken up, and was scared to go to sleep after that. Woke up a couple hours later, everything seemed to be fine, but my whole body has been shaking and I keep feeling like there's aftershocks still going on. But what didn't help was that at 7:43pm that there was a big aftershock, a **5.6** , then later on at 8:21pm there was a **5.8** aftershock, ( **both of which were centered in the South Island, but I certainly felt it here** ). So right now I am flipping terrified to go to sleep and my whole body is still shaking and I'm really scared of there being another earthquake.

So, I really don't think I'll be able to continue writing up another chapter for any of my stories until the aftershocks have stopped, or I feel safe enough again.

 **So, my apologies in advance for making you wait for the next chapter.**

LiulfrLokison out . . . TT_TT


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